Glossary Glossary
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Glossary Glossary Albedo A measure of an object’s reflectivity. A pure white reflecting surface has an albedo of 1.0 (100%). A pitch-black, nonreflecting surface has an albedo of 0.0. The Moon is a fairly dark object with a combined albedo of 0.07 (reflecting 7% of the sunlight that falls upon it). The albedo range of the lunar maria is between 0.05 and 0.08. The brighter highlands have an albedo range from 0.09 to 0.15. Anorthosite Rocks rich in the mineral feldspar, making up much of the Moon’s bright highland regions. Aperture The diameter of a telescope’s objective lens or primary mirror. Apogee The point in the Moon’s orbit where it is furthest from the Earth. At apogee, the Moon can reach a maximum distance of 406,700 km from the Earth. Apollo The manned lunar program of the United States. Between July 1969 and December 1972, six Apollo missions landed on the Moon, allowing a total of 12 astronauts to explore its surface. Asteroid A minor planet. A large solid body of rock in orbit around the Sun. Banded crater A crater that displays dusky linear tracts on its inner walls and/or floor. 250 Basalt A dark, fine-grained volcanic rock, low in silicon, with a low viscosity. Basaltic material fills many of the Moon’s major basins, especially on the near side. Glossary Basin A very large circular impact structure (usually comprising multiple concentric rings) that usually displays some degree of flooding with lava. The largest and most conspicuous lava- flooded basins on the Moon are found on the near side, and most are filled to their outer edges with mare basalts. The far-side basins are generally smaller and have minimal lava flooding, mainly at their centers. Breccia A composite rock made up of a variety of fragments formed as a result of high-energy impacts. Caldera A sizeable depression in the summit of a volcano caused by subsidence or explosion. Capture hypothesis A theory for the origin of the Moon suggesting that it originally formed as a planet in an independent orbit around the Sun but was later captured by the Earth’s gravity. Catena (plural: Catenae) A chain of craters. Central peak An elevation found at the center of an impact crater, usually formed by elastic rebound of the lunar crust after impact. Cleft A small rille. 251 Co-accretion hypothesis A theory that postulates that the Moon formed from a cloud of debris in orbit around the Glossary Earth. Also known as the “Sister Planet” theory. Collision hypothesis A theory of the formation of the Moon that appears to account for more idiosyncrasies of the Moon and its orbit than any other theory. It postulates that the Moon was formed from a cloud of material blasted out from the Earth after a glancing blow from a Mars-sized impactor. Popularly known as the “Big Whack” theory. Colongitude The selenographic longitude of the sunrise terminator. Tables of colongitude in an ephemeris are consulted in order to plan or research lunar observations. Crater A circular feature, often depressed beneath its surroundings, bounded by a circular (or near- circular) wall. Almost all the large craters visible on the Moon have been formed by aster- oidal impact, but a few smaller craters are endogenic, of volcanic origin. Crescent Moon The period between the New Moon and dichotomy when the earth-turned lunar hemi- sphere is less than half-illuminated. Crypotomare An ancient mare overlain and obscured by thick piles of ejecta from subsequent basin- forming impacts. Dark halo crater (DHC) A crater surrounded by a collar of dark material. In some cases this material is volcanic ash thrown out from a volcanic vent. Other DHCs are produced by impacts that excavate darker material from beneath the lunar surface. Dark side The hemisphere of the Moon not experiencing direct sunlight. 252 Dichotomy Half-phase (first quarter or last quarter Moon). Glossary Dome A low, rounded elevation with shallow-angled sides. Most have been formed volcanically, but others are thought to have arisen as a result of subcrustal pressure. Dorsum (plural: Dorsa) Wrinkle ridge. Earthshine The faint, blue-tinted glow of the Moon’s unilluminated hemisphere, visible to the naked eye when the Moon is a narrow crescent. It is caused by sunlight reflected onto the Moon by the Earth. Eclipse A phenomenon caused when the Moon passes directly in front of the Sun and casts a shadow onto the Earth (solar eclipse) or when the Moon moves through the Earth’s shadow (lunar eclipse). Ecliptic The apparent path of the Sun against the celestial sphere during the year. The ecliptic is inclined by 23.5° to the celestial equator. The major planets follow paths close to the ecliptic, and the Moon’s path inclines by some 5° to it. Ejecta A sheet of material thrown out from the site of a meteoroidal or asteroidal impact that lands on the surrounding terrain. Large impacts produce ejecta sheets composed of melted rock and larger solid fragments, in some cases producing bright ray systems. The brightness of the ejecta blanket gradually fades over time. Elongation The angular distance of the Moon or a planet from the Sun, viewed from the Earth, meas- ured between 0° and 180° east or west of the Sun. For example, the first quarter Moon has an eastern elongation of 90°. 253 Endogenic Having an internal origin. Lunar volcanoes and faults are endogenic. Glossary Ephemeris A table of numerical data or graphs that gives information about a celestial body in a date- ordered sequence, i.e., the rising and setting times of the Moon, the Sun’s selenographic colongitude, etc. Evection A regular deviation of the Moon’s orbital path around the Earth caused by the gravitation- al pull of the Sun. Exogenic Having an external origin. Most lunar craters are exogenic. Far side The hemisphere of the Moon that is constantly turned away from the Earth. The far side relates to all the features between 90° east and 90° west, but libration allows the terrestrial observer to glimpse some 59% of the Moon’s surface over time. Fault A crack in the lunar crust caused by tension, compression or sideways movement. First Quarter Half phase between New Moon and Full, occurring one-quarter through the lunation. Fission hypothesis An old, now abandoned theory that attempted to explain the origin of the Moon as a chunk of material spun off from a rapidly revolving Earth. Full Moon When the lunar disc is completely illuminated by the Sun.Viewed from above, the Sun, Earth and Moon are in line. 254 Gibbous The phase of the Moon between dichotomy and Full. Glossary Graben A valley created by crustal tension and bounded by two parallel faults. Examples can be observed around the edges of several maria. Highlands Heavily cratered regions of the Moon of generally higher elevation than the maria. They appear significantly brighter than the maria. Impact crater A pit in the Moon’s crust formed by a solid projectile’s striking the Moon at high speed, causing either a mechanically excavated crater (meteoroid impacts) or a large explosive excavation (asteroid impacts). Lacus (Latin: Lake) A small, smooth plain. Lava Molten rock extruded onto the surface by a volcano. Limb The very edge of the Moon. Lithosphere The Moon’s solid crust. Lunar Pertaining to the Moon (from Luna, Roman goddess of the Moon). 255 Lunar eclipse A period during which the Moon moves through the shadow of the Earth. Lunar eclipses can Glossary be penumbral, partial or total, and happen at Full Moon when the Sun, Earth and Moon are almost exactly in line. Lunar geology The study of the lunar rocks and the processes that sculpted the Moon’s surface. Sometimes referred to as “selenology.” Lunation The period taken by the Moon to complete one cycle of phases, from New Moon to New Moon, averaging 29d 12h 44m. This is the Moon’s synodic month. Lunations are numbered in sequence from Lunation 1, which commenced on 16 January 1923. Lunation 1000 commenced on 25 October 2003. Mare (Latin: sea. Plural: maria) A large, dark, lunar plain. Maria fill many of the Moon’s large multiringed basins and comprise a total of 17% of the Moon’s entire surface area. Massif A large mountainous elevation, usually a group of mountains. Mons (Latin: mountain. Plural: montes) The generic term for a lunar mountain. New Moon The lunar phase during which all of the near side is unilluminated. Seen from above, the Moon lies directly between the Earth and Sun. Occultation The disappearance or reappearance of a star or planet behind the lunar limb. Palus (Latin: marsh) A small lunar plain. 256 Perigee The point in the Moon’s orbit where it is closest to Earth. At perigee, the Moon can be as close as 356,400 km from the Earth. Glossary Promontorium (Latin: promontory) A mountainous headland that projects into a lunar mare. Ray A bright feature of flat relief that radiates from many of the younger lunar impact craters. Part of the crater’s ejecta system, bright-colored ray material also churns up the lunar surface to reveal lighter-colored material beneath. Regolith The upper layer of the Moon’s surface, a mixture of compacted dust and rocky debris produced by eons of relentless meteoritic erosion. Rift valley A graben-type feature caused by crustal tension, faulting and horizontal slippage of the middle crustal block. Rille A narrow valley.Some rilles are linear or arcuate, caused by crustal tension or faulting.