Recent Geologic Activity on the Moon?
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Newly detected series of narrow linear troughs are known as graben. Image Credit: NASA/GSFC/Arizona State University/Smithsonian Institution
Recent images from NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera provide evidence that the lunar crust may be pulling apart in certain areas.
The images reveal small trenches less than a kilometer in length, and less than a few hundred meters wide. Only a small number of these features, known as graben, have been discovered on the lunar surface.
There are several clues in the high-resolution images that provide evidence for recent geologic activity on the Moon.
The LROC team detected signs of contraction on the lunar surface as early as August of 2010. The contractions were in the form of lobe-shaped ridges known as lobate scarps.
Based on the data, the team suggests the widely-distributed scarps indicate the Moon shrank in diameter, and may be continuing to shrink. Interestingly enough, the new image data featuring graben presents a contradiction, as they indicate lunar crust being pulled apart and theorize that the process that created the graben may have occurred within the past 50 million years.
Read the full article over at: Universe Today
Ray Sanders is a Sci-Fi geek, astronomer and blogger. Currently researching variable stars at Arizona State University, he writes for Universe Today, The Planetary Society blog, and his own blog, Dear Astronomer
2012-12-04 08:07:20
Source: http://www.dearastronomer.com/2012/02/20/recent-geologic-activity-on-the-moon/
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