Tag Archive for 'Moonquake'

Small ridges on the Moon’s far side (yellow) reveal evidence that the Moon may not be as dormant as previously believed. Image credit: Tom Watters, Smithsonian Institution

Researchers Find Evidence for Relatively Recent Seismic Activity on Lunar Far Side

Jan 29, 2025 by News Staff

New research from Smithsonian Institution and the University of Maryland shows that lunar fault structures may be recently and potentially currently active...

Predicted areas of slope instability in the south polar region of the Moon; the image is centered on Shackleton crater; locations of proposed Artemis III landing regions are shown (blue boxes); the model predicts that large portions of the interior walls of Shackleton crater are susceptible to landslides (inset), as are portions of the interior crater walls in the Nobile Rim 1 region. Image credit: Watters et al., doi: 10.3847/PSJ/ad1332.

Earth’s Moon is Shrinking, New Modeling Study Suggests

Jan 29, 2024 by News Staff

Earth’s Moon shrank more than 46 m (150 feet) in circumference as its core gradually cooled over the last few hundred million years, according to a paper...

This view of Europa was captured by the JunoCam imager aboard NASA’s Juno spacecraft during the mission’s close flyby on September 29, 2022. Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / SwRI / MSSS / Kevin M. Gill.

Local Tectonic Activity Could Cause Landslides on Icy Satellites of Jupiter and Saturn

Apr 17, 2023 by News Staff

Intense tectonism is evident on many outer solar system satellites — such as Ganymede, Europa, and Enceladus — with some surface regions showing...

Global map of the albedo from the 750 nm filter of the UV-VIS camera onboard NASA’s Clementine spacecraft. The image shows the near side and far side of the Moon in Lambert, equal-area projection. Image credit: NASA.

Active Tectonic System Spotted on Moon’s Nearside

May 4, 2020 by News Staff

A system of wrinkle ridges on the nearside maria of the Moon is evidence of seismic activity set in motion 4.3 billion years ago that could be ongoing...

This thrust fault is one of thousands discovered on the Moon by NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter. These faults resemble small stair-shaped cliffs, or scarps, when seen from the lunar surface. The scarps form when one section of the Moon’s crust (left-pointing arrows) is pushed up over an adjacent section (right-pointing arrows) as the Moon’s interior cools and shrinks. Image credit: NASA / GSFC / Arizona State University / Smithsonian Institution.

Moon is Still Tectonically Active, Researchers Say

May 14, 2019 by News Staff

In 2010, an analysis of images from NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) found that the Moon shriveled like a raisin as its interior cooled, leaving...