Mystery Of Moon’s Glow Solved By NASA Scientists, Here Is Why It Is Caused

The reason behind the mysterious, albeit beautiful, glow of the moon has reportedly been solved by researchers from NASA. According to data collected from NASA's Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer (LADEE), the glow is a result of nanodust lunar clouds created by meteoroid impacts.

A layer of weak particles surrounds the moon, called the exosphere, which is also gravitationally bound to it. It is a rarity for particles in the moon's exosphere to collide with each other, unlike the case in Earth's thicker atmosphere. According to scientists from California's NASA Ames Research Centre, the particles in the exosphere result from the moon being worn down by its environment due to causes like solar storms or meteoroid collisions.  

The researchers suggested the reason after observing particles from the moon's exosphere, collected by LADEE spacecraft during 2013 to 2014. The study revealed that the exosphere particles were not permanently aloft; it was in fact the surface of the moon whose forces caused the dust to move up. On the basis of the observation, the researching team put forward the suggestion that the dust is caused by meteoroid streams, and comes and goes with them.

"We weren't actually looking for a fluctuating exosphere. It's just something that came out of the data", said Amanda Cook, NASA lunar scientist. Incidentally, the scientists studied two sets of data taken during the peak and fall of a meteoroid stream. Scattered sunlight was seen at the peak of the stream, implying that the dust particles were no more than 60 nanometers in width, whereas little light was noticed when the meteoroid activity was at its weak point.

The scientists also suggested that over time the nanodust could cover the moon entirely, based on the rates of the meteoroid impact. In addition, the researching team hopes that further observations could also reveal details about solar flares, meteor showers and planetary surfaces.