![]() ![]() These basic definitions are listed below. Thanks go to Paul A.The following definitions of the observing conditions are common between Phase 1 preparation and Phase 2 preparation, as well as between Service Mode and Visitor Mode observations. Knowing that, we could argue that the most commonly used term for Lunar far side, the dark side of the Moon, is in fact a misnomer:Īdditionally, and as luck would have it, NASA has just released a 360 degree view of the Moon, a video of stitched together still images taken by its Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, and published for example on this CBS News page. Please, let me know in the comments, if they are required.Įdit to add: Another interesting thing about the darkness of the Lunar surface is that the far side of the Moon has relatively few lunar maria, compared to its near side that faces the Earth at all times due to this Earth's natural satellite being in a tidally locked orbit with our planet. This answer is not based on any external reference. Smaller dark regions, but still large enough to be clearly observable on the attached to the question photograph and indeed also to the naked eye when observing Luna on the night's sky, are a product of larger meteor impacts that were energetic enough to literally melt the impact area's Lunar surface and penetrate deep enough to cause mixing of the molten rock from the Lunar surface with materials from the Lunar inner, denser layers.ĭenser areas of smaller impact craters are however just casting shadows on the Lunar surface, also making them appear darker than the average darkness of the Lunar surface, covered in regolith and with better light reflection properties. Mare Tranquillitatis), calling the landing site The Tranquility Base. ![]() Mare), for example, Apollo 11 Lunar Module "Eagle" landed in the area called The Sea of Tranquility ( Lat. ![]() These large lava beds are called Maria (Latin, pl. As the lava eventually solidified with the Moon cooling down, later impacts would of course still remain visible. Notice that they might be somewhat less covered by still visible impact craters than on average the lighter areas are, as then still liquid lava would completely cover any traces of impacts from the early Lunar history. The dark and large areas are solidified lava beds from earlier periods of Lunar evolution, when it was still volcanically active. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |