Moon Science: Tycho Crater's Central Peak | NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter
On June 10, 2011 the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) spacecraft slewed 65° to the west, allowing the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera (LROC) Narrow Angle Cameras (NACs) to capture this dramatic sunrise view of Tycho Crater in low-sun lighting and long shadows. A very popular target with amateur astronomers, Tycho is located at 43.37°S, 348.68°E, and is ~82 km (51 miles) in diameter. The summit of the central peak is 2 km (6562 ft) above the crater floor, and the crater floor is about 4700 m (15,420 ft) below the rim. Many "clasts" ranging in size from 10 meters to 100s of meters are exposed in the central peak slopes. Were these distinctive outcrops formed as a result of crushing and deformation of the target rock as the peak grew? Or do they represent preexisting rock layers that were brought intact to the surface? Imagine future geologists carefully making their way across these steep slopes, sampling a mixture of rocks brought up from depth.
Tycho is a prominent lunar impact crater located in the southern lunar highlands of the Moon's near side, named after the Danish astronomer Tycho Brahe (1546–1601). It is estimated to be 108 million years old. It is one of the Moon's brightest craters, with a diameter of 85 km (53 mi) and a depth of 4,700 m (15,400 ft).
Tycho's features are so steep and sharp because the crater is young by lunar standards. Over time, micrometeorites, and not so micro meteorites, will grind and erode these steep slopes into smooth mountains.
Another NAC pair acquired on May 27, 2010, gives an excellent straight down view of the summit, including the large boulder featured. Also note the fractured impact melt deposit that surrounds the boulder. And the smooth area on top of the boulder, is that also frozen impact melt? These LROC images clearly show that the central peak formed very quickly. The peak was there when impact melt that was thrown straight up during the impact came back down. Or did the melt get there by a different mechanism? The fractures probably formed over time as the steep walls of the central peak slowly eroded and slipped downhill. Eventually the peak will erode back such that the big boulder will meet its demise as it slides 2000 meters to the crater floor.
These images were captured by NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) spacecraft (2009-2026).
LRO has made a 3-D map of the Moon's surface at 100-meter resolution and 98.2% coverage (excluding polar areas in deep shadow), including 0.5-meter resolution images of Apollo landing sites.
LRO has been studying the Moon from up close since 2009, making it the longest-lived lunar orbiting mission ever. The orbiter has mapped the Moon’s surface and measured its temperature, composition, and radiation environment in unprecedented detail. Data from LRO enables NASA, and our international and commercial partners, to select locations on the lunar surface where spacecraft and astronauts can safely land. The orbiter is also helping NASA identify areas near the Moon’s South Pole with crucial resources like water and extended sunlight that provides power for equipment and supports exploration activities.
https://science.nasa.gov/mission/lro/
Date: June 29, 2011
#NASA #Space #Astronomy #Science #Earth #Moon #Geology #Geoscience #Volcanism #ImpactCraters #TychoCrater #LunarBoulders #LunarCraterCentralPeaks #LRO #LunarOrbiter #LROC #NAC #WAC #SpaceRobotics #SpaceTechnology #NASAGoddard #GSFC #ASU #UnitedStates #SolarSystem #SpaceExploration #STEM #Education
No comments:
Post a Comment