How LRO Plans to Watch the Lunar Eclipse from the Moon

By Nancy Atkinson - June 15, 2011 at 1:16 PM UTC | uncategorized

What will the June 15th lunar eclipse look like from the Moon itself? Luckily, we've got the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter circling the Moon, and we can find out. However, most of the instruments on LRO will be powering down during the eclipse, but one instrument, called Diviner, will stay on. "It will be like a nap with one eye open!" the

LRO spacecraft said on Facebook.

The Diviner Lunar Radiometer instrument will record how quickly different areas on the moon's day side cool off during the eclipse. Since large boulders cool more slowly than a fine-grained or dusty surface, Diviner will be able to see what areas are covered with boulders and what regions are blanketed by dust.

The eclipse begins at about 17:24 Universal Time (UT), will be darkest from around 19:22 UT to 21:02 UT, and ends a bit after 23:00 UT. (

For more info on the eclipse, see our preview article to find out how you can watch it live -- in person or online.)

During this eclipse, the moon's orbital path will take it close to the center of the darkest part of Earth's shadow, called the umbra, so the deepest part of the eclipse will last a long time -- just over an hour and 40 minutes.

"This is an unprecedented opportunity to learn more about the uppermost few millimeters of the moon," said Diviner Principal Investigator David Paige of the University of California, Los Angeles. "Diviner plans to operate continuously during the entire eclipse period, targeting ten specific regions. The ten sites represent a diverse selection of lunar terrains. Some consist of fine dust, others are rocky, and there are a variety of compositions including dark, iron-rich lunar maria and light, iron-poor lunar highlands. Diviner will target these features before, during, and after the eclipse, which will allow us to observe how these different surfaces respond to the sudden drop in temperature."

Watch the video for more information, or read more about Diviner and the eclipse

at NASA's LRO website.

You can follow Universe Today senior editor Nancy Atkinson on Twitter: @Nancy_A. Follow Universe Today for the latest space and astronomy news on Twitter @universetoday and on Facebook.

Nancy Atkinson

Nancy Atkinson

Nancy Atkinson is a space journalist and author with a passion for telling the stories of people involved in space exploration and astronomy. She is currently retired from daily writing, but worked at Universe Today for 20 years as a writer and editor. She also contributed articles to The Planetary Society, Ad Astra (National Space Society), New Scientist and many other online outlets.

Her 2019 book, "Eight Years to the Moon: The History of the Apollo Missions,” shares the untold stories of engineers and scientists who worked behind the scenes to make the Apollo program so successful, despite the daunting odds against it. Her first book “Incredible Stories From Space: A Behind-the-Scenes Look at the Missions Changing Our View of the Cosmos” (2016) tells the stories of 37 scientists and engineers that work on several current NASA robotic missions to explore the solar system and beyond.

Nancy is also a NASA/JPL Solar System Ambassador, and through this program, she has the opportunity to share her passion of space and astronomy with children and adults through presentations and programs. Nancy's personal website is nancyatkinson.com