Lunar Maria and circular basins-a review
TL;DR: Lunar maria and circular basins interrelations, form, origin and distribution from Lunar Orbiter photographs from NASA's Lunar orbiter photographs were used to study the relationship between Mars and the Earth's magnetic field.
About: This article is published in Icarus.The article was published on 1970-05-01. It has received 107 citations till now. The article focuses on the topics: Lunar craters & Lunar mare.
Citations
More filters
TL;DR: In this article, an expression for radial thickness variations in lunar impact crater ejecta was proposed, which was inferred from available cratering data and semi-empirical calculations for approximate modeling of variations in ejecta thickness with the increasing range of lunar craters.
379 citations
TL;DR: The role of lunar volcanism in the history of the moon is documented using lunar-orbit and earth-based data along with characterizations derived from Apollo and Luna sample-return missions as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: The role of lunar volcanism in the history of the moon is documented using lunar-orbit and earth-based data along with characterizations derived from Apollo and Luna sample-return missions. Characteristics of mare and highland volcanic features are described, Apollo and Luna results are discussed, and the characteristics of other mare deposits and of other highland features of possible volcanic origin are summarized. Major conclusions are that: (1) there is little unequivocal morphologic evidence for highland volcanism, (2) lunar mare lavas appear to have originated from depths of 100 to 500 km, (3) impact melting does not appear to have been a factor in the generation of mare lavas, (4) mare volcanism was characterized by massive outpourings of very fluid volatile-poor lava analogous to terrestrial flood basalts, (5) mare volcanism took place from 3.83 to about 2.5 billion years ago, (6) the preferential occurrence of mare deposits in large impact basins appears to be generically unrelated to basin formation, and (7) a thicker farside crust may be responsible for the distinctive nearside-farside asymmetry of mare deposits.
334 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors extended the study of the relationship among mare filling, mare basin tectonics, and global thermal evolution to the major mascon maria: Imbrium, Crisium, Orientale, Humorum, Nectaris, Smythii, Grimaldi, and Serenitatis.
Abstract: The paper extends the study of the relationships among lunar mare filling, mare basin tectonics, and global thermal evolution to the major mascon maria: Imbrium, Crisium, Orientale, Humorum, Nectaris, Smythii, Grimaldi, and Serenitatis. For each of the eight major mascon mare basins on the moon, the paper describes the distribution and history of major mare units, the characteristics and geometry of basin-related tectonic features, the temporal relations between tectonic features and geologic units, the response of the lunar lithosphere to basalt loading as a function of space and time, and the relationship between loading stress and global thermal stress in controlling lunar tectonic history. The principal features of the volcanic, tectonic, and thermal history of the mascon maria are summarized.
317 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors summarized some fundamental aspects of lunar history which have been established as a result of the Apollo program of lunary exploration and contemporaneous Soviet lunar missions, with emphasis on the isotopic data which record lunar global evolution most directly.
256 citations
Book•
01 Jan 1976TL;DR: In this paper, the origin and evolution of the solar system are analyzed, followed by experimental studies of plasma-solid reactions and chemical and mineralogical analyses of meteorites and lunar and terrestrial samples.
Abstract: The origin and evolution of the solar system are analyzed. Physical processes are first discussed, followed by experimental studies of plasma-solid reactions and chemical and mineralogical analyses of meteorites and lunar and terrestrial samples.
236 citations
References
More filters
TL;DR: Lunar Orbiter tracking data have been processed to supply a qualitatively consistent gravimetric map of the lunar nearside and the results indicate that there are large mass concentrations under the lunar ringed maria.
Abstract: Lunar Orbiter tracking data have been processed to supply a qualitatively consistent gravimetric map of the lunar nearside. While a simplified model was employed, the results indicate that there are large mass concentrations under the lunar ringed maria. These mass concentrations may have important implications for the various theories regarding lunar history.
424 citations
346 citations