A peak of eternal light (PEL) is a hypothetical point on the surface of an astronomical body that is always in sunlight. Such a peak must have high latitude, high elevation, and be on a body with very small axial tilt. PELs would be advantageous for space exploration and colonization, because an electrical device located there would receive solar power regardless of the time of day or day of the year, and because of a relatively stable temperature range. The existence of such peaks was first postulated by Wilhelm Beer and Johann Heinrich von Mädler in 1837. The pair said about the lunar polar mountains: "...many of these peaks have (with the exception of eclipses caused by the Earth) eternal sunshine". These polar peaks were later mentioned by Camille Flammarion in 1879, who speculated that there may exist pics de lumière éternelle at the poles of the Moon. Detailed lunar topography collected by the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) suggests that no points on the Moon receive perpetual light during both the winter and summer. However, there are points on crater rims which have very extended periods of sunlight.
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This article is an automated import of the Wikipedia article "Peak of eternal light", available at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peak_of_eternal_light . Text is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.