Ephemeris: 04/19/2024 – Moon bases

This is Ephemeris for Friday, April 19th. Today the Sun will be up for 13 hours and 42 minutes, setting at 8:33, and it will rise tomorrow at 6:49. The Moon, halfway from first quarter to full, will set at 5:39 tomorrow morning.

Tomorrow night’s gibbous moon will reveal perhaps the brightest spot on the Moon, the crater Aristarchus. It is left the center of the Moon near the terminator which is the sunrise line. It now doesn’t look so bright, but when the Moon becomes full it will be the brightest spot visible. The problem that astronauts will face in making a Moon base will be to survive the two week long days and two week long nights, because the Moon rotates once in its orbit of the Earth. Perhaps the best way to insulate from the very extremes of temperature, of maybe 200°F in the daytime and minus 200° at night, is to bury the Moon Base structures. The regolith should make a very good insulator and keep the base at a fairly constant temperature.

The astronomical event times given are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan (EDT, UT–4 hours). They may be different for your location.

Addendum

The moon tomorrow night April four featuring the crater Aristarchus, the brightest spot on the Moon when it is full. But tonight it’s near the terminator. Created using Stellarium and LibreOffice Draw.

A regolith sheltered moonbase designed for ESA the European Space Agency. I’m not sure what the skylights are for because on the Moon the sky is always black day or night.