Sudden discovery .. "The atmosphere" of the earth envelops the moon

A distant cloud extends from the hydrogen atoms that form the farthest part of the earth's atmosphere, at a distance large enough to also cover the moon.

A new study, comprising data from the solar and heliospheric observatory of NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA), revealed more than 20 years ago that this area, called geocorone 39, extends over 630 000 km.

Scientists say the new concept can help guide the search for water planets outside our solar system.

ESA

We did not know, so we studied the observations made by the Sohu spacecraft during the last two decades, "said Igor Paliukin of the Russian Institute of Space Research, lead author of the study.

NASA

The observations were made using the SWAN instrument of the Soho Probe, which tracked the marks of hydrogen in "geocorona", revealing its distance from the moon.

Read more

Since the presence of hydrogen in the outside atmosphere of the planet is often a sign of near-surface water vapor, the researchers say the new study could help search for superfluous planets .

The astronauts captured the first photo of "geocorona" in 1972, during the Apollo 16 mission.

The new study indicates that the intensity of hydrogen atoms in the geocorone varies day, night and day due to sunlight.

During the day, the atoms are compressed to about 70 atoms per cubic centimeter, 60 000 km from the surface.

"On the floor, we call it empty, so this extra source of hydrogen is not big enough to make space exploration easier." The space in the orbit of the moon will be small compared to the main source of radiation, the sun. "

Source: Daily Mail