Astronomy quiz
Why is the Moon's surface cratered but the Earth's is not
Earth's impact craters have been mostly obliterated by erosion and plate tectonics
Why doesn't the Moon have an atmosphere
It had very few volcanoes and the gravity is too weak to hold a substantial atmosphere
what is NOT a kind of geological feature found on the Moon?
Scarp
How were the maria formed?
Successive volcanic eruptions flooded huge basins formed by large impacts
what statement about the Moon's orbit is true
The Moon is in synchronous rotation as it orbits the Earth
What does the Moon's lack of magnetic field suggest about its internal structure
The Moon's core is smaller and cooler than the Earth's
What does the Moon's lower density suggest about its internal structure
The Moon's iron core is smaller relative to the Earth's
How is the Moon's crust similar to the Earth's
The lunar crust is mostly silicate rock
How is the Moon's mantle different from the Earth's
The lunar mantle is too cold to form convection cells
Why do the lunar maria have a darker color than the highland regions
The maria are composed of different materials than the highlands
Why is the regolith light-colored in the highlands, while darker in the maria
The regolith in the maria has a different mineral composition
scientists recently confirmed the presence of water ice at the poles of the Moon. Where did this water come from
Water was deposited on the Moon by cemetary impacts, and it condensed in deep polar craters
Rilles on the lunar surface were formed by
ancient lava flows
The lunar highlands are composed primarily of
anorthosite
What is the composition of the lunar regolith
anorthosite and basalt
The lunar maria are primarily composed of
basalt
Like the near side of the Moon, the far side has the same general features, a mix of maria and highlands
false
Heavily cratered, low-density regions of the lunar surface are called
highlands
Comparing the near and far side sides of the Moon, we find that the far side
is more heavily cratered than the near side
What are rays?
long, light streaks of pulverized rock radiating outward from craters
the lunar escape velocity is ________ the Earth's
lower than
Basalt, a dense congealed lava rock rich in iron, is the primary material in the Moon's are called what?
maria
The large dark areas on the Moon that form the face of the "Man in the Moon" are called what?
maria
How many times does the Moom rotate on its axis in one orbital period
only once
One result of bombardment of the Moon's surface is a layer of broken, pulverized, and powdered rock called
regolith
What we call the Moon's surface layer
regolith
Long canyons on the lunar surface are called
rilles
What is the source for the lava that covers the maria
rock melted by radioactive heating
The majority of lunar craters formed when
solid bodies such as asteroids impacted the Moon's surface
The primary reason the Moon lacks an atmosphere is because
the Moon lacks sufficient gravity to retain an atmosphere
Differences between the near and far sides of the moon is that
the far side has no maria, the far side's crust is mostly anorthosite, the far side is more heavily cratered, the far side is mostly all rough terrain
The lunar highlands have more craters than the maria because
the maria are much younger than the highlands
The central peak of a crater is formed by
the upward rebounding of compressed rock
The Moon contains small amounts of frozen water that is mixed in with its rocks
true
Until we sent missions to the Moon, no one on Earth had seen the far side of the Moon.
true
The distance between the Earth and the Moon
varies as the Moon orbits about the Earth.