Researchers using SOFIA have made the first-ever detection of the water molecule on the sunlit surface of the Moon. This discovery refines our understanding of the behavior of water and how volatile elements and compounds interact with airless bodies. Volatiles can influence the internal processes and surface expression of planets. In particular, water suppresses the melting point of rock, promoting volcanism, and reduces the viscosity of planetary interiors, enabling more efficient internal circulation and heat transfer.

Water has been detected previously in trace amounts in the lunar exosphere and in sparse occurrences as ice in permanent shadow at the lunar poles. The team led by C. Honniball (NASA Goddard/USRA) used SOFIA to target sunlit high lunar latitudes near the South Pole, where the low temperatures could allow migrating water to transiently remain on the surface. Thanks to the sensitivity of the FORCAST spectrometer, the team found water abundances of a few hundred parts per million, which is high by lunar standards. Read more.

Attendees of the 52nd DPS Meeting will be able to attend this webinar hosted by the USRA booth, on Monday October 26, from 12:30pm to 1:00pm PDT. A video of the webinar will be also available for the duration of the meeting.

Casey Honniball (NASA Goddard) will present her team's recent lunar observations, and Bill Reach (SOFIA/USRA) will address the status of the SOFIA project and current opportunities.

NASA is hosting a Q&A on Reddit about studying water on the Moon on Tuesday Oct. 27 10:00-11:30 am PDT. Participants answering questions include:

Attendees of the AGU Fall meeting will be able to access the poster session: 'SOFIA, An Asset for Planetary Science' on Monday Dec 14th. With contributions from Z. Landsman (UCF), E. Young (SWRI), I. de Pater (UC Berkeley), C. Honniball (NASA Goddard). A Q&A session will also be held (time TBD).

The SOFIA Science Center is organizing the special session 'Assessing the Impact of Stellar Feedback' at the 237th AAS meeting. This session will include recent theoretical and observational results which contribute to the understanding of the role of stellar feedback across different scales, from protostellar clouds to galaxies. Observations of the kinematics and temperature gradients in stellar environments (such as the FEEDBACK SOFIA legacy program) will be presented. Get more information.

The oral session will be held on Tuesday, January 12, from 1:10 pm to 2:40 pm PST with invited talks by Alexander Tielens (U. Leiden), Laura Lopez (OSU), Mélanie Chevance (U. Heidelberg), Hector Arce (Yale), Susanna Widicus Weaver (U. Wisconsin-Madison) and Crystal Martin (UCSB).

The SOFIA fall colloquium series is held via WebEx on Wednesdays at 3:30 pm Pacific. See the complete schedule and connection information.

Tele-Talks are scientific presentations given via phone, with slides distributed ahead of time. The talks are held approximately twice a month on Wednesdays at 9:00 a.m. Pacific. For information on how to participate, check SOFIA Tele-Talk webpage.