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Nasa will make an announcement about results obtained from their flying observatory regarding the Moon on Monday.
https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-to-announce-new-science-results-about-moon
Having just checked that website it refers to “teleconference at 12 p.m. EDT Monday, Oct. 26” ?
My understanding is that there is “12 o’clock midday” and “12 o’clock midnight”. Surely 12 p.m. would come 1 minute after 11:59 p.m. Similarly midday, coming 1 minute after 11:59 a.m. would either be 12 a.m. or even 0 p.m.
I believe that the NASA website is referring to their midday.
Just popped up on the BBC
Water on the Moon could sustain a lunar base https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-54666328
Bit optimistic headline
Apparently using Sofia they claim to have found 12 flow per cubic meter in Claviu, seems rather a lot of molecular water
00:00 is the first midnight of each day; 12:00 is noon; 24:00 is the second midnight of each day.
00:00, occurring before the sun reaches its highest point the sky (except at the geographic poles), is quite clearly ante meridiem and 24:00 is equally clearly post meridiem.
Yes, I am a pedant. Guilty as charged.
Don’t get me started on NASA’s “discovery of xxx” press conferences and their wonderful mixture of units. From the BBC article: ““The amount of water is roughly equivalent to a 12-ounce bottle of water in a cubic metre of lunar soil.” I suppose it is not as bad as saying a bath full of water in something the size of a house. Indeed, over half a pint of water in a cubic metre of soil does sound an awful lot though. My garden possibly had less than that at some point in the last summer! I suppose I should really look at the Nature papers rather than rely on second hand reports on the BBC but life is too short…
Today’s teatime BBC “PM” programme began with an announcement that NASA had discovered even more water than on “the dark side of the Moon”. It got switched off before I threw the radio out of the back door…
You reaction is understandable. Clavius is clearly not on the dark side of the moon because I have seen it for myself. Mare Moscoviense is on the dark side of the moon (*)
Anyway, there is no dark side of the moon really. As a matter of fact, it is all dark (+).
* In the same sense as Africa used to be the dark continent.
+ According to Pink Floyd. As the albedo is roughly the same as that of tarmac they make a good case IMO.
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