Thermal contour map of the moon´s sea of tranquillity shows wide temperature variation during eclipse

Plateaus and peaks of heat rising from one area of the moon´s cold surface during eclipse are represented as physical contours on a thermal map prepared from data collected by two Boeing Company physicists, John Saari and Richard Shorthill, during a lunar heat-mapping experiment in Egypt last year. The floor of the map represents a temperature of −144°F, the moon´s general surface temperature during eclipse. Each ½0 of an inch plateau above the map´s floor represents an area 30 degrees warmer than the eclipsed lunar surface. Some of the highest “temperature peaks” on the thermal contour map are craters which remain as much as 100°F warmer than the surface during eclipse. Oddly enough, during noneclipse periods, some thermal contours are reversed (the heat peaks becoming cool wells in the lunar surface) while some are not. The heat map described above is of the moon´s Sea of Tranquillity (see photo on page 18). Eventually, the Boeing physicists hope to build a thermal contour map of the moon´s entire visible surface.