Photometric stability of the lunar surface
Icarus
By: H. H. Kieffer
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Abstract
The rate at which cratering events currently occur on the Moon is considered in light of their influence on the use of the Moon as a radiometric standard. The radiometric effect of small impact events is determined empirically from the study of Clementine images. Events that would change the integral brightness of the moon by 1% are expected once per 1.4 Gyr. Events that cause a 1% shift in one pixel for low Earth-orbiting instruments with a 1-km nadir field of view are expected approximately once each 43 Myr. Events discernible at 1% radiometric resolution with a 5 arc-sec telescope resolution correspond to crater diameters of approximately 210 m and are expected once every 200 years. These rates are uncertain by a factor of two. For a fixed illumination and observation geometry, the Moon can be considered photometrically stable to 1 ?? 10-8per annum for irradiance, and 1 ?? 10-7per annum for radiance at a resolution common for spacecraft imaging instruments, exceeding reasonable instrument goals by six orders of magnitude. ?? 1997 Academic Press.
Suggested Citation
Kieffer, H.H., 1997, Photometric stability of the lunar surface: Icarus, v. 130, no. 2, p. 323-327, https://doi.org/10.1006/icar.1997.5822.
| Publication type | Article |
|---|---|
| Publication Subtype | Journal Article |
| Title | Photometric stability of the lunar surface |
| Series title | Icarus |
| DOI | 10.1006/icar.1997.5822 |
| Volume | 130 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Year Published | 1997 |
| Language | English |
| Larger Work Type | Article |
| Larger Work Subtype | Journal Article |
| Larger Work Title | Icarus |
| First page | 323 |
| Last page | 327 |