If Covid-19 has paralyzed the entire Earth, its consequences could have reached space. A study carried out by scientists from the Physics Research Laboratory in Ahmedabad (India) shows that the Moon cooled during the periods of confinement which followed the global pandemic linked to Covid-19, indicates Futurism.
The article published in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society lists the analyzes carried out using NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) tool. This is a probe placed in orbit around the Moon which allows, among other things, to collect temperatures at six points on the visible side of the star.
An 8 to 10 degree drop in temperatures on the surface of the Moon
The records cover a period from 2017 to 2023. The two authors of the study note a drop in temperatures on the surface of the Moon at night between the months of April and May 2020. This period corresponds to the first measurements of confinement applied on Earth to limit the Covid-19 epidemic.
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Indian scientists believe that these two events are linked. The lowest temperature recorded on the Moon was recorded on site 2 of the star with 96.2 kelvins, or approximately -177°C. On average, between 8 and 10 degrees were lost over this period.
This drop, considered “abnormal” in the study, in temperatures can be explained according to them by a reduction in greenhouse gases on Earth. As a result, less heat was trapped within the atmosphere, and therefore less heat escaped. However, it would be this lack of heat leakage towards the outside of the Earth which would have allowed the cooling of the Moon.
The visible side of the Moon more likely to be influenced by terrestrial radiation
To confirm their hypothesis, the two scientists checked other factors that could influence the temperature on the surface of the Moon. But they found that neither solar activity nor seasonal flow variations had any impact on the LRO readings.
The fact that the surveys were carried out on points on the visible side of the Moon, and therefore the most likely to be disturbed by terrestrial radiation, goes in the direction of the researchers. Moreover, previous studies have shown that radiation emanating from the Earth can influence the temperature on the surface of the Moon.
“This confirms that our results are solely due to the Covid containment”write the members of the Ahmedabad physics research laboratory in their study, reports Mashable. However, the two scientists believe that additional research is necessary to establish a definitive causal link between the two events.
