chrisgiordano

January full moon wanes

With the full moon having come and gone a day prior, we now watch closely as it wanes towards new moon. As the sunset terminator (Earth's shadow) climbs back ov...
Read more

With the full moon having come and gone a day prior, we now watch closely as it wanes towards new moon. As the sunset terminator (Earth's shadow) climbs back over the lunar limb (edge of the moon) night by night, further contrasted shadow detail is revealed between deep impact craters, mostly the result of asteroid impacts; the "maria," or seas of exposed, frozen lava seen as darkened surface areas; and lighter areas, known as the highlands, made from igneous rock formed under the surface. Very little shadow being cast on the moon reduces contrast and generally makes craters harder to spot; in this image providing more detail visible on the top of the image where the terminator runs into the limb. However, such conditions reveal impressive views of something else....Can you spot the streaks or "rays" emanating from the giant impact crater on the bottom right of the image? The crater is known as Tycho, it's approximately 110 million years old, and the impact from the asteroid which created it displaced a great deal of terrain creating a surrounding "ejecta blanket," of which the streaks are a part of - some stretching to 1,500km long. Many of Tycho's massive ejecta chunks went on to create other smaller craters too! Even more fascinating, all of the landing sites for the Apollo Missions (11, 12, 14, 15, 16, 17) are present in the image as well!
Read less