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The Moon is the only extraterrestrial body for which we have samples with a known geologic context. A handful of lunar meteorites have been recognized on Earth, though their source craters on the Moon are unknown. A substantial portion of the lunar surface has not been explored, and a number of geological questions remain unanswered.
The Moon's surface exhibits many other geological features. In addition to mountains, valleys, and impact craters, the following surface features have received names in the Lunar nomenclature , many of them named after a nearby crater or mountain.
They usually begin at an extinct volcano, then meander and sometimes split as they are followed across the surface. As of 2013, 195 sinuous rilles have been identified on the Moon. [2] Vallis Schröteri in Oceanus Procellarum is the largest sinuous rille, and Rima Hadley is the only one visited by humans, on the Apollo 15 mission.
The Moon's color depends on the light the Moon reflects, which in turn depends on the Moon's surface and its features, having for example large darker regions. In general, the lunar surface reflects a brown-tinged gray light. [213] At times, the Moon can appear red or blue.
Lunar regolith is the unconsolidated material found on the surface of the Moon and in the Moon's tenuous atmosphere. Sometimes referred to as Lunar soil, Lunar soil specifically refers to the component of regolith smaller than 1 cm.
Lunar craters as captured through the backyard telescope of an amateur astronomer, partially illuminated by the sun on a waning crescent moon. Evidence collected during the Apollo Project and from uncrewed spacecraft of the same period proved conclusively that meteoric impact, or impact by asteroids for larger craters, was the origin of almost ...
Blue Ghost also plans to capture high-definition imagery of a total eclipse as the Earth blocks the sun just before a lunar sunset ushers in frigid lunar night on March 16. Eric Lagatta covers ...
Selenography is the study of the surface and physical features of the Moon (also known as geography of the Moon, or selenodesy). [1] Like geography and areography , selenography is a subdiscipline within the field of planetary science .