formation of the moon what properties were known about the moon prior to apollo? orbital period mass...
TRANSCRIPT
Anatomy of the Moon
Highlands.
• Rough terrain • many craters. • 3.9 to 4.4 by • Anorthosite• Breccia
Maria (Seas)
– flat – roughly circular – not many craters – rocks are like basalt – 3.1 to 3.8 by.
• Regolith– Lunar soil– Physically Weathered rock
Craters
• Craters– Meteor impacts– Methods to determine age
• Superposition• Amount of weathering
Phases of the Moon
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Near Side
Far Side
Lunar Landing
Locations
Model for the Formation of the Solar System
Models for the Formation of the Moon
• Fission Theory– Earth had a baby– Poor model
• Why did it come out• Where did is come out
Models for the Formation of the Moon
• Capture Theory– Asteroid was passing by the Earth and got caught in
its gravitational pull. – Is the accepted model for the formation of small
moons of Mars and big planets
Models for the Formation of the Moon
• Co-Accretion, Condensation or Colliding Planetesimals Theory– Earth had a sister– Planet and moon formed at the same time, same way
• Large moons on large planets are believed to have formed this way
Models for the Formation of the Moon
• Collision-Ejection or Ejected Ring Theory– Impact from a large object tour off a large piece
of the Earth which was ejected into orbit around the Earth. This material reformed into the moon.
What properties were known about the moon since Apollo?
• 4.5 BY• Highlands are made of Anorthosite• Maria are made of Basalt• Rock has very little volatile material
– No Water– The ice found recently at the
lunar north pole is from comets – found in the cold shaded craters.
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Short History of the Moon• Formed 4.6 billion years ago (bya) at about the
same time as the Earth with continuous and intense meteor bombardment.
• By 4.2 bya the solid solidified, bombardment continued.
• By 3.8 to 3.1 bya the seas are formed by massive lava flows
• 3.o bys to present, the moon is geologically dead