Lunar Geology of Apollo 11 Landing Site
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Lunar Geology of Apollo 11 Landing Site Chenango Forks High School Sharon Hartzell Sarah Maximowicz Benjamin Daniels Sarah Andrus Jackson Haskell Lunar Maria Lunar Maria Lunar Maria • Low albedo • Volcanic materials from flows, ash beds, or both • Level and darker than other moon features Mare Tranquilitatis : “Sea of Tranquility” • Mare/Maria –Latin term for Sea • Apollo 11 landing site – Minor Lunar Mare • Chosen due to its relatively smooth and level area • “Small step for man giant leap for mankind” • First footprints located in the lunar mare Lunar Highlands Highlands Lunar Highlands • The lunar highlands are lighter than the surrounding maria. • They are formed by volcanic activity. The lava that formed the highlands cooled more slowly than the mare basalts • They are anorthositic in composition and not basaltic Lunar Highlands • Samples from the lunar highlands near the Apollo 16 landing site are dated to be around 4 billion years old. • The highlands are shown to be older than the mare basalts Plains Level and flat With a relatively low albedo. Smooth, low hills may be totally absent of cratering. Underlying features are Low undulating totally covered hills with sporadic and evidence craters and of volcanism is depressions. not apparent. Generally where volcanic debris is limited and underlying Hypatia crater features are marginally visible. Zollner crater Irregular Terra Characterized by its Rolling Hills lack of a dominant or distinguished by the regular pattern. Except small indentations in in very localized areas the surface that trail there are virtually no in a NW‐SE. The smooth, flat areas. indentations are believed to be the result of faulting and Rough and rugged collapse during the terrain composed Imbrian event. of hills verging on mountainous terrain composed of volcanic debris. Largely composed of volcanic materials as a result of the Hypatia crater (Upper), and the Zollner crater (Lower). Craters Craters ‐Eroded, uneven edges: older craters ‐Clean, well‐defined edges: newer Zöllner craters Kant ‐Newer craters may also be superimposed on older craters, as with Hypatia and Hypatia A. Halo ‐Higher albedo than surrounding areas Craters near the Apollo 11 Landing site ‐Many craters are surrounded by a “halo” of brighter material, or impact ejecta. Those without halos are most likely older, since the halo had the chance to be eroded Craters • Some form from volcanic activities, but most are impact‐generated. • Form either through simple or complex processes • Force from the impact affects the moon's geology by causing compression and heating. Impacts push moon material out of the way in the same manner as a stone being dropped in Raised Rim water. ‐ Raised rims of craters result from the warped lunar surface. As material is removed from the craters, it forms rays of ejecta, or ejecta blankets. ‐Rocks are shattered by the impact, leaving craters formed of breccias. Lunar Features Lunar Features LAVA TERRACES: • Small terraces within some craters along mare‐highland boundaries • “Shorelines” left after lava has withdrawn either by drainage back into vents or into a lunar basin GRABENS: • Tectonic features that form under extension stresses or when magma is injected underground along dikes. • Structurally composed of two normal faults with a down‐dropped block between them. • Most grabens are found within the lunar maria near the edges of large impact basins. Lunar Features Sinuous Rille: • long, narrow winding U or V‐ shaped channels with steep walls and roughly parallel sides that often emerge from craters. • Sinuous rilles become narrower and shallower as they progress downstream • Most are near mare basin edges or in most mare deposits • Analogues to lava channels and collapsed lava tubes • May represent volcanism occurring after global resurfacing. Sources • Google Moon • http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/imagegallery/ • Impact Cratering Notes • Lunar Volcanism Notes • http://books.google.com/books?id=7Q49AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA101&lpg=PA10 1&dq=lava+terraces+on+the+moon&source=bl&ots=yBkzpkcXVT&sig=X25 bbWy31WdXq9Bdj1QnYdLazvE&hl=en&ei=t4KAS4HIH42zlAeIoK2bBw&sa= X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=4&ved=0CBUQ6AEwAw#v=onepag e&q=lava%20terraces%20on%20the%20moon&f=false • http://www.lpi.usra.edu/meetings/lpsc1996/pdf/1361.pdf • http://apollo.sese.asu.edu/LIW/index.html • http://www.astrosociety.org/education/publications/tnl/13/13.html • http://csep10.phys.utk.edu/astr161/lect/moon/moon_surface.html • http://lroc.sese.asu.edu/news/index.php?/archives/157‐Pull‐Apart‐ Grabens.html.