A little humor in the title but serious science - the Moon is shrinking due to heat loss as is explained in this article.
The findings are based on the study of 12,000 photographs taken by Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) - the spacecraft that continues to rewrite what we know about the Moon - showing new wrinkle features in the northern part of the Moon known as Mare Frigoris.
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| Scientists have discovered these wrinkle ridges in a region of the Moon called Mare Frigoris. These ridges add to evidence that the Moon has an actively changing surface. This image was taken by NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO). NASA/GSFC |
The shrinking Moon also is thought to have created "moonquakes" that shaped the Moon's surface, especially in Taurus-Littrow Valley where Apollo 17 astronauts Gene Cernan and Harrison Schmidt (the only geologist to to the Moon so far).
An amazing view of Taurus Littrow Valley by LRO:
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The Taurus-Littrow valley is the location of the Apollo 17 landing site (asterisk). Cutting across the valley, just above the landing site, is the Lee-Lincoln fault scarp. Movement on the fault was the likely source of numerous moonquakes that triggered events in the valley. 1) Large landslides on of slopes of South Massif draped relatively bright rocks and dust (regolith) on and over the Lee-Lincoln scarp. 2) Boulders rolled down the slopes of North Massif leaving tracks or narrow troughs in the regolith on the slopes of North Massif. 3) Landslides on southeastern slopes of the Sculptured Hills.
Credits: NASA/GSFC/Arizona State University/Smithsonian
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The more we learn about the Moon the more amazing a place it becomes.
Sky Guy in VA
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