The LRO spacecraft in orbit around the Moon has sent a curious image. It shows a beautiful play of light and shadow inside a young crater located near the South Pole of the moon.
Most lunar craters, especially the largest ones, are billions of years old. They were formed long before terrestrial life escaped from the ocean and began to conquer the land.
Of course, there are exceptions to this rule. One of them is the famous Tycho Crater, which is clearly visible even with binoculars or a small telescope. It was formed 109 million years ago during the time of the dinosaurs.
An even younger crater is shown in this image taken by the LRO probe. It has no name of its own yet. The unnamed impact formation is located in the southern circumpolar region of the Moon and is neighboring the 19-km-long Bailly O crater. It has a diameter of 10 km and a depth of 2.2 km.
Although the crater photographed by LRO has no name, it is of considerable interest due to its youth. This is indicated by the “sharpness” of its structures and the very small number of craters covering it. According to astronomers’ estimates, the formation is no more than two million years old. It may be as young as Bruno Crater, located on the far side of the Moon.
LRO photographed the crater shortly after sunrise, when its bottom was not sunlit yet. Thanks to this, the photo shows a very beautiful play of light and shadow and a lot of small details both inside and near the funnel.
Earlier we told you about how a meteorite helped determine the age of the largest lunar crater.
Provided by LROC
