Thermal consequences of a tall vertical mirror on the lunar surface
Abstract
The existence of a tall plane specular mirror standing on the lunar surface induces a shadowing effect which makes the surface in the vicinity of the mirror experience a longer lunar night (i.e., three-quarters of a lunation). As a consequence the surface temperatures near the mirror tend to be less than would be found on the same site if the mirror was entirely absent. The temperature on the lunar surface right at the foot of the mirror (i.e., at the point just below the obstacle) is always less than that for the same site without the mirror, coming close to it only just before sunrise. The local lunar surface temperature exceeds that of the mirrorless site only when it is on the sunny side of the mirror and receives double its normal insolation.
- Publication:
-
Letters Heat Mass Transfer
- Pub Date:
- August 1974
- Bibcode:
- 1974LHMT....1...13R
- Keywords:
-
- Brightness Temperature;
- Lunar Surface;
- Lunar Temperature;
- Mirrors;
- Shadows;
- Surface Temperature;
- Boundary Value Problems;
- Conductive Heat Transfer;
- Thermal Radiation;
- Transient Heating;
- Lunar and Planetary Exploration