Hey Space Placers!
The Moon and Earth are a double planet system, which means that the Moon is large in comparison to its parent planet, the Earth. There is one other double planet system in the solar system and that is Pluto-Charon.
The Earth and the Moon are interwoven in so many ways but one of the most interesting is how scientists use the Moon to monitor the atmosphere and the Earth itself.
One method is to monitor the amount of moonlight the Earth receives which can be used in calibrating Earth monitoring satellites.
The other is to analyze the clarity of the Earth's atmosphere during total lunar eclipses to do so. This helps in deterring how "clear" the Earth's stratosphere is of volcanic aerosols which in turn can affect the amount of sunlight reaching the Earth. I personally observed the total lunar eclipse in 1992 mentioned in the article while I lived on the island of Guam and I can tell you it was DARK!
These combined studies will help us to better monitor the health of Mother Earth.
Sky Guy in VA
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