APOD: Craters and Shadows at the Lunar... (2018 May 22)

[APOD Robot]

Craters and Shadows at the Lunar Terminator

Explanation: Why does the right part of this image of the Moon stand out? Shadows. The terminator line -- the line between light and dark -- occurs in the featured image so that just over half the Moon's face is illuminated by sunlight. The lunar surface appears different nearer the terminator because there the Sun is nearer the horizon and therefore causes shadows to become increasingly long. These shadows make it easier for us to discern structure, giving us depth cues so that the two-dimensional image, when dominated by shadows, appears almost three-dimensional. Therefore, as the Moon fades from light to dark, shadows not only tell us the high from the low, but become noticeable for increasingly shorter structures. For example, many craters appear near the terminator because their height makes them easier to discern there. The image was taken two weeks ago when the lunar phase was waning gibbous. The next full moon, a Moon without shadows, will occur one week from today.

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[Ann]

Nice picture. I like the subtle colors.

The difference between the smooth, almost crater-less "mares" and the surrounding, terribly cratered and uneven moon landscape is striking indeed.

Ann

[Boomer12k]

Indeed a great way to see contrast...some shadows add to the scene...

Mine from earlier this month...but the terminator on the other side of Plato Crater...


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[orin stepanek]

The shadowed craters are nice; and I love the coloration of the sunlit side of Luna!

[Sa Ji Tario]

In the image of Boomer you can clearly see the Alpine Valley to the right of Plato and to the left and below, Sinus Roris but there is no Harpalo that was the first moon landing project before NASA

[Evenstar]

It's a beautiful moon. I forget about the reddish (brownish) colorations--is that iron? Still, the Moon looks largely grayish. Why? Mars is redish from so much iron oxidation? Is there any dusty place on Earth where you can take a picture of a footprint that looks grayish like Apollos footprints?

When will Moonauts (Moonlings) from Earth circumnavigate the surface of the Moon? I suspect once we can successfully pull off a feat like this we will be living comfortably on Mars and other moons too?

[neufer]

It's a beautiful moon. I forget about the reddish (brownish) colorations--is that iron?
Still, the Moon looks largely grayish. Why? Mars is reddish from so much iron oxidation?

Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter image from September 10, 2010 km wide. Credit: NASA/GSFC/Arizona State University

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<<Colors on the Moon are dominantly controlled by variations in iron and titanium content. The mare regions have low reflectance because they contain relatively high amounts of iron oxide (FeO). Some mare basalts contain unusually high amounts of titanium oxide (TiO₂) in addition to iron oxide, making for even lower reflectance. TiO₂ also shifts the color of the mare from red to blue.

The distinct boundary between Mare Tranquillitatis (darker and bluer) and Mare Serenitatis (lighter brown) is clearly visible in the WAC color image and results from high TiO₂ in the Tranquillitatis basalts. Scientists have studied the Tranquillitatis basalts in detail from the rocks returned by the Apollo 11 astronauts; the composition of the Serenitatis rocks are known only from orbital remote sensing. One of the goals of the WAC is to provide a global map of UV and visible reflectance to help scientists better understand the distribution of iron and titanium in the mare. From the Apollo samples, we believe that titanium is dominantly held in the mineral ilmenite. However, we have not sampled the full variety of lunar basalts so we can not be sure - more samples are needed.>>

[MarkBour]

'Tis a lovely, crisp image of the moon!

You can so clearly see Copernicus and Tycho, and it kind of makes it look like they could have been near-simultaneous, the twin impacts of a body that had broken into two parts. From what I have seen, however, those who have dated the two craters put them far apart in time of origin. If I read correctly, Copernicus is thought to be around 800 million years old, and Tycho only about 100 million years old.

Another feature that I find beautifully highlighted here is Mare Imbrium, whose circumference ridge starts just to the east of Copernicus and curves North as one follows the ridge to the east. That had to be a real whopper of an impact! According to Wikipedia, it is theorized that Mare Imbrium was created by an impactor of about 250 ± 25 km in diameter, about 4 billion years ago. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mare_Imbrium)

[neufer]

It's a beautiful moon. I forget about the reddish (brownish) colorations--is that iron?
Still, the Moon looks largely grayish. Why? Mars is reddish from so much iron oxidation?

Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter image from September 10, 2010 km wide. Credit: NASA/GSFC/Arizona State University

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.
<<Colors on the Moon are dominantly controlled by variations in iron and titanium content. The mare regions have low reflectance because they contain relatively high amounts of iron oxide (FeO). Some mare basalts contain unusually high amounts of titanium oxide (TiO₂) in addition to iron oxide, making for even lower reflectance. TiO₂ also shifts the color of the mare from red to blue.

The distinct boundary between Mare Tranquillitatis (darker and bluer) and Mare Serenitatis (lighter brown) is clearly visible in the WAC color image and results from high TiO₂ in the Tranquillitatis basalts. Scientists have studied the Tranquillitatis basalts in detail from the rocks returned by the Apollo 11 astronauts; the composition of the Serenitatis rocks are known only from orbital remote sensing. One of the goals of the WAC is to provide a global map of UV and visible reflectance to help scientists better understand the distribution of iron and titanium in the mare. From the Apollo samples, we believe that titanium is dominantly held in the mineral ilmenite. However, we have not sampled the full variety of lunar basalts so we can not be sure - more samples are needed.>>

Crash site of Beresheet as seen by the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter.

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<<Beresheet was a demonstrator of a small robotic lunar lander and lunar probe operated by the Israel Aerospace Industries. Its aims included promoting careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), and landing its magnetometer, digital time capsule, and laser retroreflector on the Moon. The planned landing site was in the north part of the Mare Serenitatis. The lander's gyroscopes failed on 11 April 2019 causing the main engine to shut off, which caused the lander to crash on the Moon. Final resting position is 32.5956°N, 19.3496°E [check out map above].

The lander was previously known as Sparrow and was officially renamed to "Beresheet" (Hebrew: בְּרֵאשִׁית‎, "Bərēšīṯ", "In the beginning"; Book of Genesis) in December 2018. Its net mass was 150 kg; when fueled at launch, its mass was 585 kg. It had been compared to a washing machine, as it stood at about the height of one at 1.5 m and was similar in width to large household appliances. It used seven ground stations for earth–lander communication. Beresheet was planned to operate for an estimated two days on the lunar surface, as it had no thermal control and was expected to quickly overheat. However, its laser retroreflector was a passive device requiring no electrical power and was expected to be functional for several decades.

The spacecraft carried a digital "time capsule" containing over 30 million pages of data, including a full copy of the English-language Wikipedia, the Wearable Rosetta disc, the PanLex database, the Torah, children's drawings, a children's book inspired by the space launch, memoirs of a Holocaust survivor, Israel's national anthem ("Hatikvah"), the Israeli flag, and a copy of the Israeli Declaration of Independence. At the last minute, genetic samples and tardigrades were added in epoxy resin between the digital layers.>>