LRO photographs mesmerizing patterns on the Moon

NASA has published new images taken by the LRO vehicle exploring the Moon. They show unusual patterns on the surface of our planet’s moon.

Mixture of older and more “fresh” regolith on the Moon. Source: NASA/GSFC/Arizona State University

The lunar surface is covered with fine-grained soil formed by so-called space weathering. Its main factor is bombardment by meteorites and micrometeorites, during which rocks are broken into small particles. The resulting substance is known as regolith.

The brightness of regolith depends on several factors. One of them is chemical composition. Thus, the higher its iron content, the darker it is. Another factor is age. As it is exposed to the space environment (radiation and bombardment and micrometeorites), it gradually darkens.

The process described above, affects only the top 20-30 centimeters of the lunar soil. Therefore, when large impact craters form, brighter subsurface matter is ejected. It forms the characteristic ray systems surrounding the funnels. The most famous ray system is the Tycho Crater. Due to its brightness, it can be seen even with the naked eye.

Mixture of older and more “fresh” regolith on the Moon. Source: NASA/GSFC/Arizona State University

A section of a similar beam system is captured in fresh LRO images.  We see a mixture of old dark and younger light matter. They form mesmerizing patterns, looking something like the creation of an abstractionist artist. The source of the emission is a 2.3-kilometer crater located 12 km from the region photographed by the LRO.

Earlier we reported on how LRO photographed a frozen lava vortex at the bottom of a young lunar crater.

According to LROC

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