Talks, field trips and events organised by west country geological organisations are publicised on this blog. Discussion about geological topics is encouraged. Anything of general geological interest is included.
Saturday, 8 December 2012
Huge cracks on the Moon
Ebb and Flow, the twin spacecraft that comprise NASA's Gravity
Recovery and Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) mission, have created a gravity
map and other analyses of the moon, and it seems that it is riven by deep
cracks. The gravity map reveals an abundance of features never before seen
in detail, such as tectonic structures, volcanic landforms, basin
rings, crater central peaks and numerous simple, bowl-shaped craters. The map also reveals evidence for fracturing of the
interior extending to the deep crust and possibly the mantle. The Moon's
crust has an average thickness of between 21 and 27 miles (34 and 43 kilometres), which is about 6
to 12 miles (10 to 20 kilometres) thinner than previously thought.
Labels:
General Interest
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