2. THE MOON
(latin )luna is earths only
natural satellite.
The English proper
name for Earth's natural
satellite is "the Moon".
3. THE MOON profile
Distance to Earth: 384,400 km
Gravity: 1.622 m/s²
Orbital period: 27 days
Age: 4.527 billion years
Circumference: 10,917 km
Orbits: Earth
4. THE MOON
LUNAR LANDSCAPE
is characterized by impact
craters, their ejecta, a
few volcanoes, hills, lava
flows and depressions
filled by magma.
5. THE MOON
HIGHLANDS
Lighter surfaces are the
lunar highlands, which
receive the name of terrae
the darker plains are
called maria(singular mare,
from the Latin for sea)
6. THE MOON LUNAR MARIA
dark, basaltic plains on Earth's Moon,
formed by ancient volcanic eruptions.
The maria cover about 16 percent of
the lunar surface, mostly on the near-
side visible from Earth.
7. RILLES
Rilles on the Moon
sometimes resulted
from the formation of
localized lava channels.
is typically used to
describe any of the long,
narrow depressions in
the lunar surface that
resemble channels.
8. THREE TYPES OF RILLES
Sinuous rilles
meander in a curved path like a mature river, and are
commonly thought to be the remains of collapsed lava
tubes or extinct lava flows.
They usually begin at an
extinct volcano, then
meander and
sometimes split as
they are followed
across the surface.
9. Arcuate rilles
have a smooth curve and are found on the
edges of the dark lunar maria.
They are believed
to form when
the lava flows
that created
a mare cool,
contract, and
sink.
10. Straight
rilles
follow long, linear paths and are believed to
be grabens , sections of the crust that have
sunk between two parallel faults .
These can be readily
identified when they
pass through craters or
mountain ranges.
11. THE MOON
DOMES
A variety of shield volcanoes can be found in
selected locations on the lunar surface.
slope rising in elevation a
few hundred meters to the
midpoint.
12. THE MOON
WRINKLE RIDGES
are features created by
compressive tectonic forces
within the maria.
These features represent
buckling of the surface and
form long ridges across
parts of the maria.
Some of these ridges may
outline buried craters or
other features beneath the
maria. A prime example of
such an outlined feature is
the crater Letronne.
13. THE MOON
GRABENS
are tectonic features that form
under extension stresses.
Structurally, they are composed
of two normal faults, with
a down-dropped block between
them.
14. THE MOON
IMPACT CRATERS
Impact cratering is the most notable
geological process on the Moon.The craters
are formed when a solid body, such as
an asteroid or comet, collides with the
surface at a high velocity (mean impact
velocities for the Moon are about 17 km per
second).
15. An impact crater is
an approximately
circular depression in
the surface of
a planet, moon or
other solid body in
the Solar System,
formed by the
hypervelocity impact
of a smaller body
with the surface.
The prominent impact
craterTycho on
the Moon.
16. CHARACTERISTIC OF A CRATER
Walls
The interior sides of a crater, usually
steep.They may have giant stair-like
terraces that are created by slumping
of the walls due to gravity.
Rim
The edge of the crater. It is elevated
above the surrounding terrain because
it is composed of material pushed up
at the edge during excavation.
Ejecta
Rock material thrown out of the crater
area during an impact event. It is
distributed outward from the crater's
rim onto the planet's surface as debris.
It can be loose materials or a blanket
of debris surrounding the crater,
thinning at the outermost regions.
Rays
Bright streaks extending away from
the crater sometimes for great
distances, composed of ejecta
material.
17. THE MOON
REGOLITHS
The surface of the Moon has
been subject to billions of
years of collisions with both
small and large asteroidal
and cometary materials.
these impact processes have
pulverized and "gardened"
the surface materials,
forming a fine grained layer
termed "regolith".
18. THE MOON
GEOLOGICAL EVOLUTION
The first important event in the
geologic evolution of the Moon was
the crystallization of the near
global magma ocean.
The magma ocean formed about
70 million years after the history of
the Solar System began, and most
of the ocean had crystallized by
about 215 million years after that
beginning
19. THE MOON geological history
The geological history of the Moon has been
defined into five major epochs, called
the lunar geologic timescale.
the Copernican,
Eratosthenian,
Imbrian (Late and Early epochs),
Nectarian, and
Pre-Nectarian.
20. THE MOON
COPERNICAN PERIOD
runs from approximately 1.1 billion years ago
to the present day.
is defined by impact craters that possess
bright optically immature ray systems.
A ray system comprises radial streaks of
fine ejecta thrown out during the formation of
an impact crater.
Ejecta (from the Latin: "things thrown",
singular ejectum) refers to particles ejected from an
area.
21. Copernicus is a lunar impact crater named after the
astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus, located in eastern Oceanus
Procellarum. It typifies craters that formed during the Copernican
period in that it has a prominent ray system.
22. THE MOON
ERATHOSTENIAN
in the lunar geologic timescale runs from
3,200 million years ago to 1,100 million years
ago. It is named after the crater
Eratosthenes, whose formation marks the
beginning of this period.
23. The Eratosthenian period in
the lunar geological timescale is
named after this crater, though it
does not define the start of this
time period.
The crater is believed to have been
formed about 3.2 billion years ago.
The crater has a well-defined
circular rim, terraced inner wall,
central mountain peaks, an
irregular floor, and an
outer rampart of ejecta. It lacks
a ray system of its own, but is
overlain by rays from the
prominent crater Copernicus to the
south-west.
24. THE MOON
IMBRIAN
LATE EPOCH
In the Lunar geologic timescale, the Late
Imbrian epoch occurred between 3800
million years ago to about 3200 million years
ago.
It was the epoch during which
the mantle below the lunar basins partially
melted and filled them with basalt.
25. THE MOON
IMBRIAN EARLY EPOCH
In the lunar geologic timescale the Early
Imbrian epoch occurred between 3850
million years ago to about 3800 million years
ago.
It overlaps the end of the Late Heavy
Bombardment of the inner solar system.
26.
27. THE MOON
NECTARIAN PERIOD
The Nectarian Period of the lunar geologic
timescale runs from 3920 million years ago to
3850 million years ago.
It is the period during which the Nectaris
Basin and other major basins were formed by
large impact events.
Ejecta from Nectaris forms the upper part of
the densely cratered terrain found in lunar
highlands.
28. An impact event is
a collision between celestial
objects causing measurable
effects.
29. THE MOON
PRE-NECTARIAN PERIOD
The Pre-Nectarian Period of the lunar
geologic timescale runs from 4533 million
years ago (the time of the initial formation of
the Moon ) to 3920 million years ago, when
the Nectaris Basin was formed by a large
impact.
