Moon 101. By: Seacrest School Moon Crew Blake Werab David Prue

Transcription

1 Moon 101 By: Seacrest School Moon Crew Blake Werab David Prue

2 The 101 images The smooth Mare surfaces common on the nearside of the Moon

3 Mare Surfaces from Late heavy Bombardment We find that the 3 images for Moon 101 are from the Mare regions, the younger surfaces of the moon. Oldest moon surface, remnants of magma ocean 4.5 to 3.9 BYA

4 2 kinds of land surfaces: Mare and cratered (Blake) After the formation and cooling of the moon giant impacts formed the mare basins on the near side about 3.8 billion years ago Mare are widespread lava flows Sea of Storms Image #1

5 Moon 101, Image #1 Lunar Lander Apollo 12

6 Moon 101, Image #1 Lunar Lander Apollo Craters of different ages 4. Impacts at an angle form higher rim to right 1. Mare Lava Flooded Surface 3. Craters with interior ridges or rubble

7 Relative age of craters (based on fill appearance) Moon 101, Image #1 1 Oldest youngest 2 3

8 Apollo 12 photo Mare surface, covered By meters of ejecta debris Small crater Fresh small crater In the true South Florida tradition they brought a beach chair Boulders, gravels from crater

9 Summary of Img 1: The Apollo 12 site Mare surface (Oceanus Procellarum), not an impact basin, but lava flooded from nearby impacts, then covered by ejecta debris. Small to very small craters formed after mare/lava surface Heavy blanketing of dust, soils, rocks from all over

10 Moon 101 Image #2 V-shaped structure Looks like Mare Lighter materials from Later impacts

11 less eroded more eroded or scoured Older ejecta and craters Possible Lava Channel or Lava tube Flow Filled with ejecta Newest crater Lighter more recent ejecta

12 Summary: Image 2 Lava channel, (not a fault line or similar structural feature) Direction of flow towards top of image ( down ) Channel formed after surrounding lava plain (cut through it, not filled with ejecta) Evidence of old and more recent impacts (ejecta color) Most recent activity are craters w/ white ejecta at bottom of image and in gulley

13 Mare surface + ejecta covering Lava channel Newer surface w/ ejecta The Real picture: Hadley Rille, Apollo 15

14 What we see in Image 3: much larger region with mountains Img 3 Moon 101

15 Fading of gulley Img 3 Moon 101 Mountains are basin rim Mare Surface Alignment of Highlands New Crater Source of Lava Outer rim of Imbrium Basin.

16 Summary Image 3 (Blake) Mountains seem to be a ridge of a giant basin rim due to the smooth mare-like surface next to rough highlands. The linear alignment of the mountains reveals the rim structure of the basin. Gulley seems to be a rille, created by flowing lava emerging from mountain range, flowing toward top of image. Rille seems to fill in and fade out towards the top left portion of the image. We also now know that it is the same rille that is in image 2. A very big new crater in the center, a classic simple crater, 5 miles diameter Lack of craters in this image means the entire area is a newer surface, part of the Imbrium Basin.

17 Finding the image location 1km 1km Double crater 1.5km Double crater 1.5km

18 Apollo 15 landed near here St George

19 Mare Imbrium Apollo 15 and Hadley Rille

20 Hadley Rille Distant Mountain rim

21 BUT, The Genesis Rock! the rock found by Apollo 15 that is really old and brings up the formation of the moon. Originally thought to be the earliest magma crust (4.4 BYA), but its date of 4.1 billion years is more recent.

22 Mountains seen in Moon 101: Img 3 Imbrium Basin Rim Genesis rock from near here St Georges Crater

23 1. Giant Impact theory matches the chemical evidence and the physical motions of the Earth and Moon. No single model accounts for both. But the outcome is the same>>>> 2. Magma ocean Theory, the molten Moon and separation of materials by density, resulting in a surface rock low in volatiles and heavy elements, resembling the Earth s mantel. 4.5 BYA

24 Short history of the Moon 3. Early Bombardment Period: 4.4 to 3.9 BYA when highland craters are formed on original moon surface material. Genesis rock from this era. 4. Heavy Bombardment Period 3.9 to 3.8 BYA. Forms Maria, other craters, and covers moon with ejecta. 5. New Craters with rays of ejecta: Tycho and Copernicus (past 3 billion yrs.) cra

25 What We ve Determined (Blake) Two of the pictures are from the same area, the Apollo 15 landing area next to Hadley rille in the mountains rimming Mare Imbrium All 3 of the images are of Mare formations None of the images is from the most ancient parts of the moon, all are from more recent lunar surfaces, Oceanus Procellarum, Sea of Storms for Ap 12, and the Imbrium impact rim for Apollo 15 The Apollo 12 site is likely an older surface than the Hadley Rille which is within the more recent Imbrium basin.

26 THE END