What are Moon craters and how were they formed?

What are Moon craters and how were they formed?

Craters are the most common surface features on many solid planets and moons—Mercury and our Moon are covered with craters. This portion of the Moon is covered by numerous circular holes. These are impact craters, each of which was formed when an asteroid or comet collided with the Moon’s surface.

What are Moon craters How were they formed quizlet?

What created craters and when were they formed? Meteorites, asteroids , and comets striking the Moon’s surface created most of these craters, which formed early in the Moon’s history. Upon impact, cracks may have formed in the Moon’s crust, allowing lava to reach the surface and fill up the large craters.

What are the Moon’s craters called?

The majority of named lunar craters are satellite craters: their names consist of the name of a nearby named crater and a capital letter (for example, Copernicus A, Copernicus B, Copernicus C and so on). Lunar crater chains are usually named after a nearby crater. Their Latin names contain the word Catena (“chain”).

How are craters formed?

Craters are formed by the outward explosion of rocks and other materials from a volcano. Calderas are formed by the inward collapse of a volcano’s magma chamber. Craters are usually much smaller features than calderas, and calderas are sometimes considered giant craters.

How was the Moon formed?

What is most widely accepted today is the giant-impact theory. It proposes that the Moon formed during a collision between the Earth and another small planet, about the size of Mars. The debris from this impact collected in an orbit around Earth to form the Moon.

How are Maria formed on the moon quizlet?

How did the lunar maria form? Large impacts fractured the Moon’s lithosphere, allowing lava to fill the impact basins. It’s the result of gradual erosion by micrometeorites striking the Moon. You just studied 20 terms!

How was Maria formed on the moon?

Planetary Satellites, Natural The result was the melting and eruption of basaltic lava onto the lunar surface between 3.8 to about 2.8 billion years ago to form the lunar maria. This lava was highly fluid under the weaker gravitational field of the Moon and spread over vast distances.

What material is the Moon made of?

The Moon is made of rock and metal—just like the Earth and the other rocky planets (Mercury, Venus and Mars). The crust, the Moon’s outer shell, is covered by lunar soil, also called regolith: a blanket of fine rock particles, varying between three and 20 metres (10–65 feet) deep.

What are crater rays quizlet?

Describe a crater and how it is formed. Rays are long, light streaks of pulverized rocks radiating outward from craters.

How do the craters on the Moon get their names?

The majority of named lunar craters are satellite craters: their names consist of the name of a nearby named crater and a capital letter (for example, Copernicus A, Copernicus B, Copernicus C and so on). Lunar crater chains are usually named after a nearby crater.

Does the Moon have more craters than the Earth?

As a result, the moon has many more craters than the earth. The moon´s craters also stay there permanently (or until they are covered by a new crater caused by the collision of another asteroid) as without an atmosphere, there is no wind, rain, erosion, etc. on the moon.

What are many causes of the moons craters?

Craters on the Moon are caused by asteroids and meteorites colliding with the lunar surface. The Moon’s surface is covered with thousands of craters. Why does the Moon have so many craters compared to the Earth? Unlike the Earth, the Moon has no atmosphere to protect itself from impacting bodies.

What is the largest crater on Earth’s Moon?

The largest crater on the Moon is called South Pole-Aitkin Basin. It’s about 1,600 miles across (2,500 kilometers). It’s also among the oldest of the Moon’s impact basins and formed just a few hundred million years or so after the Moon itself was formed.