Abstract
Observations of lunar radio emission were made at 3.09 mm wavelength (97.1 GHz) from April 18 to May 20, 1971. Absolute brightness temperatures were measured for five distinct areas -Copernicus, Sea of Serenity, Sea of Tranquility (Apollo 11 landing site), Ocean of Storms (Apollo 12 landing site), and a highland region near the mean center - and lunation curves were determined. Theoretical brightness temperatures throughout a lunation were calculated for Copernicus, Sea of Serenity, and the Highlands region using a thermophysical model employing variable properties of the lunar soil. The results showed that the predicted lunation curves are quite sensitive to the value of the electric loss tangent. The model for the loss tangent which best fits the observed data is significantly different from that describing particulate basalt. Calculations were also made for comparison with earlier observations at the same frequency of the total lunar eclipse on February 10, 1971. Variations in the observed eclipse and lunation curves between regions are sufficiently great to prevent matching all the observations with a single model.
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The antenna system is supported by NASA Grant NGL 44-012-006.
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Ulich, B.L., Cogdell, J.R., Davis, J.H. et al. Observations and analysis of lunar radio emission at 3.09 mm wavelength. The Moon 10, 163–174 (1974). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00655717
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00655717