Latest Lunar science Stories
COLLEGE POINT, N.Y., April 17, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- In light of continued economic tumult, city and state governments across the country are facing budget cuts. With less funding than usual, many of these municipal governments are making tough decisions about which civic services to reduce or altogether discontinue. In New York City, it is the Parks Department that faces uncertainty, a fact that has many New Yorkers in an uproar. Indeed, the New York Daily News reports that many...
A new chemical analysis of lunar material collected by Apollo astronauts in the 1970s conflicts with the widely held theory that a giant collision between Earth and a Mars-sized object gave birth to the moon 4.5 billion years ago. In the giant-collision scenario, computer simulations suggest that the moon had two parents: Earth and a hypothetical planetary body that scientists call “Theia.” But a comparative analysis of titanium from the moon, Earth and meteorites, published by Junjun...
Lawrence LeBlond for RedOrbit.com The Moon, Earth’s closest companion for more than 4 billion years, is the object of a new theory on how our planet’s own natural satellite was created, reports ScienceNOW. It is scientifically believed that Earth collided with a hypothetical Mars-sized planet called Theia early in its existence producing a disc of magma that orbited Earth and eventually amalgamated to form the Moon. Under this giant impact hypothesis, models show that the theory...
Space scientists from the University of New Hampshire and multi-institutional colleagues report they have quantified levels of radiation on the moon's surface from galactic cosmic ray (GCR) bombardment that over time causes chemical changes in water ice and can create complex carbon chains similar to those that help form the foundations of biological structures. In addition, the radiation process causes the lunar soil, or regolith, to darken over time, which is important in understanding the...
In honor of 1,000 days in orbit, the NASA Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) team at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt Md. has released two new videos. One video takes viewers through the moon's evolutionary history, and reveals how it came to appear the way it does today. Another video gives viewers a guided tour of prominent locations on the moon's surface, compiled by the spacecraft's observations of the moon. "Evolution of the Moon" explains why the moon did not always...
There’s something poetic about gazing up at the night sky, seeing the familiar face of the “Man in the Moon” who faithfully accompanies us through life. The synchronous rotation of the Moon - it takes the same amount of time to spin around its own axis as it does to revolve around Earth - is what causes the Moon to "lock eyes" with Earth. This results in one of its hemispheres constantly facing us. But is there a reason why this particular half of the Moon locked with Earth, or was it...
In the nearly five decades since the first lunar surveys were conducted as part of NASA's Apollo program, scientists have advanced a number of increasingly complex theories to explain the vast swaths of highly magnetic material that had been found in the some parts of the Moon's crust. But now a team of researchers from Harvard, MIT and the Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris, have proposed a surprisingly simple explanation for the unusual findings – the magnetic anomalies are...
Have you ever wondered where the man in the moon comes from, or perhaps more interestingly, why he always fixes his gaze on us rather than showing his dark backside? Pondering those questions further, researchers from the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) have come up with some answers. The moon’s near side facing us is covered with dark splotches of lunar maria (smooth plains formed by ancient volcanic eruptions) that resembles a man’s face when seen from Earth. The far...
[ Watch the Video ] NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) has revealed that the surface of the moon is actually being stretched. Researchers said the moon's surface is forming minute valleys in some small areas on the lunar surface. They believe this activity occurred less than 50 million years ago, making it recent activity when considering the moon is over 4.5 billion years old. The team studied high-resolution images taken by the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera (LROC)...
WASHINGTON, Feb. 20, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- New images from NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) spacecraft show the moon's crust is being stretched, forming minute valleys in a few small areas on the lunar surface. Scientists propose this geologic activity occurred less than 50 million years ago, which is considered recent compared to the moon's age of more than 4.5 billion years. (Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20081007/38461LOGO) A team of researchers...
Latest Lunar science Reference Libraries
The Hadean is the unofficial geological period of time that lies just before the Archean time period. The Hadean began with the formation of the Earth roughly 4.5 billion years ago (Ga) and ended about 3.8 Ga; the latter date varies according to different sources. Hadean is derived from Hades, Greek for “underworld,” referring to the hellish conditions on the planet at the time. The term was coined in 1972 by geologist Preston Cloud. The period was later classified as the “Priscoan...
Crater -- A crater is a circular depression on the surface of a planet, moon, asteroid, or other celestial body. Craters are typically caused by meteorite impacts, although some are caused by volcanic activity. In the center of craters on Earth a crater lake often accumulates, and in craters formed by meteorites a central island (caused by rebounding crustal rock after the impact) is usually a prominent feature in the lake. Ancient craters whose relief has disappeared leaving only a...
The Moon -- The Moon is the largest satellite of the Earth, and is occasionally called Luna (Latin for moon) to distinguish it from the general use of the word "moon". The Moon is distinguished from the satellites of other planets by its initial capital letter; the other moons are described in the natural satellite article. The words moon and month come from the same Old English root word. The Moon makes a complete orbit of the celestial sphere about every four weeks. Each hour the...
The Moon -- natural satellite of a planet, in particular, the single natural satellite of the earth. The Earth-Moon System The moon is the earth's nearest neighbor in space. In addition to its proximity, the moon is also exceptional in that it is quite massive compared to the earth itself, the ratio of their masses being far larger than the similar ratios of other natural satellites to the planets they orbit (with the exception of Charon and Pluto). For this reason, the...
