The "Peaks" of Eternal Sun-light (1)

"If we can confirm peaks of eternal light", says Bernard Foing, SMART-1 Project Scientist, "these could be a key locations for possible future lunar outposts". The existence of peaks of eternal light at the poles, that is areas that remain eternally illuminated regardless of seasonal variations, was first predicted in the second half of the nineteenth century by the astronomer Camille Flammarion.
Even if for most of the Moon the length of the day does not vary perceptibly during the course of seasons, this is not the case over the poles, where illumination can vary extensively during the course of the year. The less favourable illumination conditions occur around the Northern Winter Solstice, around 24 January. There are areas at the bottom of near-polar craters that do not see direct sunshine, where ice might potentially be trapped. Also there are areas at higher elevation on the rim of Polar craters that see the Sun more than half of the time. Eventually, there may be areas that are always illuminated!".