Lunar Surface Processes Complex alterations of the lunar surface occur, despite the fact that lunar processes are much less varied and dynamic than those of the Earth. The most important source of lunar surface alteration, at least over the last three billion years, is evidenced by the Moon’s heavily pocked and cratered surface. The Moon is continuously bombarded by external objects ranging in size from small specks of dust to giant bodies tens of kilometers in diameter. These impacts are governed primarily by gravity as the solar system continues to evolve. Celestial bodies within the solar system are continually being rearranged by close encounters with one another, altering orbits, and over the course of geologic time, causing collisions with other bodies. These collisions result in two possible outcomes: fragmentation or cratering. If the colliding objects are of a similar size, collisional fragmentation and annihilation occur, producing a large number of smaller fragments from both involved bodies. If the objects are of differing sizes, collision results in an impact crater on the target body. Since objects that encounter the Moon are dramatically smaller than the Moon itself, cratering occurs. Typical impact velocities of asteroidal objects on the Moon are between 15 and 25 km/sec. With these high velocities, in combination with the high frequency of impact, the cumulative kinetic energy on lunar surface exceeds the lunar internal energy released by
The moon is by far the biggest and most easily recognizable object in earth’s atmosphere that can be perceived by the naked eye on a cloudless night. It is hypothesized that it came into existence nearly 4.5 billion years ago, from residual debris after a planetary body collided with earth. Although, considered the runner-up to the sun as the second brightest object in the sky, its illumination is deceitful, insomuch as the moon is not a source of light, but instead reflects the sun’s illumination from the half of the moon that is in direct alignment with the sun at that time. More readily identified as a satellite of the earth rather than as a planet itself or even a star, it has a diameter a quarter of the size of earth’s size and it
the moon 's orbit around the Earth, and the planets ' motions around the Sun. The
Have you ever considered that the moon may not be exactly what it seems to be? Science says that the moon was a result of the Earth colliding with another planet, causing a rocky mass to break free from the earth and be pulled into orbit by the force of gravity. Conspiracy theorists have considered the possibility that the moon may be something more than just a rocky mass orbiting the earth. A theory that has been created regarding our moon is called The Hollow Moon Theory. This theory tries to prove that the moon may just be a cover or a protective layer around an alien's UFO. It may be hard for some to go against scientific research, but there is a possibility that something other than a collision is responsible for the formation of our moon.
Impact craters are geologic structures formed when a large meteorite, asteroid or comet smashes in to a planet or a satellite. Meteorites are small rocks in space that hit the earth's atmosphere at a high velocity. Throughout their history they have heavily bombarded all the inner bodies in our solar system. In this experiment we will use marbles as our meteorites, these will be free falling objects that will be used to copy an asteroid impact. The surfaces of the Moon, Mars and Mercury, where other geologic processes stopped millions of years ago, record this bombardment clearly. On the Earth, however, which has been
In the article’ Did NASA fake the moon landing” It said”The documents that even when Earth passes through a particularly intense meteor shower, nothing happens to spacecraft. The November 1999 Leonid meteor storm, the most intense since the dawn of the space age, dramatized this point. Not one of seven hundred operational satellites was damaged during the Leonid meteoroid onslaught” ( Villard 48). This important piece of evidence because people say that the micrometeoroids would have sandblasted the spacecraft but even when the earth passed nothing happened to the space.
Title: Explore the effect of the lunar phase on events on Earth - temperature and birth rates. Subject: Astronomy Grade level: High school - grades 10-12 Project Type: Descriptive Cost: Low Awards:
Mimas and another Saturn moon, Rhea, have been called the most heavily cratered bodies in the Solar System. It is believed that the craters on Mimas have been around since the beginning of the Solar System. Mimas is so heavily cratered that new impacts will overwrite the old craters that were created in the past. There just is not a part of the Mimas that has not been pounded by impacts.
There are many different theories about how the moon was formed. People believe different things. I believe one is more reliable than all the others. I think the Big impact theory is the most trustworthy. The Big Impact theory has many different pieces of evidence behind it. The other ones i could barely find any.
In 1975, two scientists by the name of Dr. William K. Hartmann and Dr. Donald R. Davis, came up with a groundbreaking new theory on how the moon was created. Their theory stated “At the time Earth formed 4.5 billion years ago, other smaller planetary bodies were also growing. One of these hit earth late in Earth 's growth process, blowing out rocky debris. A fraction of that debris went into orbit around the Earth and aggregated into the moon” (Hartmann & Herres 1). This theory is known as the Giant Impact Theory and is the accepted theory in the scientific community of how the moon was created. Even though this theory is accepted by most, there are still some people who don’t hold this theory to be true. I agree with Davis and Hartmann’s Giant Impact Theory that a great collision occurred and created the moon. The Giant Impact Theory is supported by the lack of iron on the moon, the moon rocks from the Apollo missions, and its acceptance in the scientific community.
In the poem ‘Moon’, Kathleen Jamie explores themes of abandonment, loneliness and disconnection. She does this by utilizing a clearly dysfunctional relationship between a mother and child. The child replaces the either mentally or physically absent mother with the presence of the moon. To explore the emotional distance between child and mother, the author uses dark and light imagery to empathize the child’s loneliness and to evoke the scene of a parent visiting they child late at night. Personification of inanimate objects illustrates the detrimental effects the unavailable mother has on the child’s mental wellbeing. The poem ends with dialogue from the protagonist, the child, pointing out that the moon is not her mother, as if to be
Fig. 2. The formation of the Moon due to an off-centre collision of a Mars sized body (Freedman and Kaufmann, 2009) p.249
1. "Apollo Moon Rocks." Curators Chioce. Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum. 15 Oct. 2007 http://www.nasm.si.edu/exhibitions/cchoice/moonrocks/moonrocks3.htm.
Also, the azimuth was less than 180 degrees which gave an estimate at where it would be in the sky.
hit Earth are found to be great discoveries. These small space rocks that have been chipped off
At first glance, the Moon and Mercury have similar surface features yet on closer inspection we find that significant differences exist. Compare and contrast the surfaces of the two bodies and outline their respective geological histories.