Nicholson developed heat-measuring devices to determine the Moon's surface temperature, showing drops of 200°C during periods of its eclipse by the Earth's shadow. They found that the sunlit side of the Moon reaches 117°C and the night side sinks to -169°C. This work highlighted the Moon's poor heat conduction due to its lack of atmosphere and oceans.
A visual chronology of Asimov's ~1500 scientific inventions and discoveries.
