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Geology on the Moon

9 April 2012
Astronomy

At www.physorg.com/print249024405.html … a NASA spacecraft orbiting the Moon has relayed images of what looks like recent geological activity. It appear as if the crust of the Moon is being stretched to form small valleys, or faults. The nub is that scientists say it took place less than 50 million years ago – which is not exactly recently. The consensus view appears to be that the Moon is shrinking as it is thought it is still in the process of cooling down, at its heart. . The interior is said to be hot. So, we are supposed to have a shrinking crust but the spacecraft has detected an expanding crust. Something is up (see also www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/LRO/news/lunar-graben.html).

However, a paper in the Journal of Geophysical Research 117 (doi:10.1029/2011JE003987) hot off the press, concerns lunar equatorial surface temperatures and regolith properties from the Diviner Lunar Radiometer Experiment onboard the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter spacecraft, has measured solar reflectance and mid-infrared radiance over four diurnal cycles (see http://tallbloke.wordpress.com/2012/04/09/ashwin-vavasada-lunar-equatori… ) and yes, there is heat up there.

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