MSX Observations of the Eclipsed Moon at 4 Microns
J. W. Howard, S. J. Little, T. L. Murdock (GRCI, Center for Science & Phenomenology)
The lunar eclipse of September 27, 1996 presented the opportunity to observe the 4 micron emission from the moon during totality. The Midcourse Space Experiment (MSX) satellite made observations three times during the totality phase of the eclipse. These observations in Bands B1 (4.22 - 4.36 microns) and B2 (4.24 - 4.45 microns) were used to construct images of the eclipsed moon. The images have been analyzed for temperature and location of thermal anomalies on the moon as well as for temperatures of extended maria and highland areas. Maps of the moon to illustrate the location and brightness of thermal anomalies first seen by Saari and Shorthill (1965) and temperature comparisons with microwave measurements of selected regions on the moon (Sandor and Clancy, 1995) will be made.
Saari, J. M., and R. W. Shorthill, 1965, Nature, 205, p. 964. Sandor, Brad J., and R. Todd Clancy, 1995, Icarus, 115, p. 387.