Water on the Moon can affect telescopes

Detecting water on the Moon may open up hope for a new settlement for people. However, a study by Chinese scientists said water on the Moon could affect their plan to install telescopes on the satellite in 2013.

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Telescope model installed on the Moon. (Photo: Stfc).

Initially, scientists thought that the surface of the Moon was completely dry. But this hypothesis changed in 2009 when observations from the spacecraft of the US Aeronautics and Space Agency (NASA) showed evidence of the existence of water on the Moon and millions of tons. tape at 2 poles of this satellite.

Recently, a study by scientists from the Chinese Academy of Sciences showed that water molecules on the Moon when evaporating may interfere with the signals of Chinese telescopes intended to be installed. on the moon.

' Last year, scientists discovered water molecules that exist on the Moon, ' said Dr. Zhao Hua, an astronomer at the Chinese Academy of Sciences. ' However, the Sun's ultraviolet rays can separate water molecules in the process of evaporation into hydrogen and hydroxyl ".

The researchers found that hydroxyl molecules - made up of a hydrogen and oxygen atom - with high concentrations on the Moon could interrupt or distort the signals of telescopes on the surface of the Moon. .

" At certain ultraviolet wavelengths, the moon's hydroxyl molecules will scatter. This scattering process will affect telescope observations during sunshine ," said Dr. Zhao Hua. said.

The idea of ​​building a telescope on the Moon was discussed since the US and Russian Space Agency cooperated to bring people to the Moon. Because scientists believe that the construction of the moon on the Moon has some advantages over building telescopes on Earth, such as a cloudless sky and less affected by earthquakes. shock.