GOUDEAU_AST115-999: Surface of the Moon

Philip Goudeau

AST115-999

Surface of the Moon lab

Abstract:

The surface of the moon was studied via Moon Maps. Findings were recorded.

Introduction:

The moon is important, so it has been studied. Below are my findings

Procedures:

1. The surface details and markings of the moon maps were studied with specific attention paid to the maria, mountains, and craters. Descriptions and keys were read and the coordinate systems were noted.
2. The Mare Imbrium and Oceanus Procellarum were studied in detail. The craters appearing in each were noted.
3. The Large and Small craters in the lunar highlands were studied. The type of craters with and without high peaks were noted. The overlapping of certain craters were also noted.
4. The mountain ranges were studied with specific attention paid to the Apennine, Haemus Caucasus, Carpathian and Pyrenes ranges.
5. The Far side of the moon was observed using Google Moon © The features were compared with those noted on the near side.
6. A picture of Mercury was provided and studied. The features were compared with those noted of the moon. The differences and similarities were recorded.
7. The NASA Apollo Landings were studied. Observations were made of the landing sites.
8. The Soviet Union Moon landing sites were studied. Observations were made of the landing sites.

Results/Discussion:

A)

The Maria of the mon is found in the lowlands of the moon.

The craters are located throughout both

The mountains are in the highlands

The Lunar Craters & mountains typically act as a border between the low/highlands

The maria are mostly found on the upper left quadrant of the side of the moon facing us.

B)

It can be said that the Plato craters & friends came before the oceanus procellarum (lava ocean). It looks like, based on the visible depth, it is shallow. Suggesting that the craters had been filled by said lava ocean.

The Kepler and Copernicus craters suggest that they appeared after the lava ocean went away. These craters appear more rough/gritty, which suggests that they probably weren’t filled by the aforementioned lava ocean.

Other examples of craters that had been filled by lava oceans would be the craters, Aristoteles, and Atlas (Mare Frigoris). Other examples of craters that had not been filled by the lava would be craters Gassendi and Pilatus (Mare Humorum Nubium).

To comment on the history of the lava oceans that once flowed on the moon, one could say, “Well, the lava flowed, cooled, and hardened after a few craters hit already; effectively filling them. While some craters hit after the lava went away. hitting the freshly smooth surface making it less smooth and filled with craters.

C)

It appears that most of the large craters do not have “peaks” in the middle while the smaller craters do appear to have peaks in the middle.

When overlapping craters come into play, it looks like the younger craters are the ones on top. This is because if a bigger one were to overlap a smaller one, it would pretty much wipe it out, destroying the crater because it is bigger. So the big ones came first, followed shortly by the smaller ones.

I suspect the origin of the lunar craters to be the results of space rocks flying at high speeds; eventually colliding with the moon. Craters are almost like leaving a signature at the end of a document, a space rock’s way of saying, “I was here” sort of like space graffiti.

D)

Of the mountain ranges listed (See procedures D), it looks like the Haemus Caucasus Range is the tallest. Standing at near to 3000 meters. However the tallest mountain on the moon is listed as Mons Huygens which stands at close to 5.5 kilometers

I noticed that some of the mountain ranges are also circular. This finding suggests that the mountains are actually craters in disguise. If you think about it, when a space rock hits, if it is big enough, it could cause regions around it to spike upwards in response.

E)

The far side of the moon has a lot more craters than the near side. The craters on the far side also appear to be bigger.

A big similarity between the two that was noticed was that no side goes uncratered.

The most prominent feature of the far side of the moon would probably be the sheer amount of space rock impact sites. There are a lot. Which means that at one point the universe was abundant with space rocks. Each flying at high speeds impacting planetary bodies often. Notably, some more than others.

There appears to be far more small craters on both sides of the moon, but the far side has more small craters than the near side, because the far side has more craters in general, so the probability of there being more small craters on the side with more craters overall is high.

Generally the shape of the craters appears to be consistent. The size however does not. It varies.

F)

When it comes to the similarities between Mercury and the Moon, one thing immediately jumps out. Both surfaces appear to be heavily cratered.

However the surface of Mercury has these cracks stemming from some craters which may cause people to believe that a few craters hit it so hard that the cracks split through the planet, but the truth is the cracks originate from a combination of the composition of Mercury along with it’s position relative to the sun.