Dynamical arguments which concern melting of the moon

Details Dynamical arguments which concern melting of the moon Dynamical arguments which concern melting of the moon

Mar 1977

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=1977rspta.285..561k&link_type=abstract

(Royal Society, Discussion on the Moon - A New Appraisal from Space Missions and Laboratory Analyses, London, England, June 9-12

Astronomy and Astrophysics

Astronomy

4

Libration, Lunar Crust, Lunar Surface, Moments Of Inertia, Selenology, Apollo Flights, Lunar Composition, Planetary Structure, Solidification

Scientific paper

This paper points out that the observed differences of the moments of inertia of the lunar globe about its principal axes - determined astronomically and verified more recently by laser rangings - are inconsistent with the assumption that the whole moon was ever covered by a global layer of molten material, extending to a depth of a few hundred kilometers. Moreover, laser determinations of the shape of the moon (along the tracks overflown by Apollo 15-17 missions) make it quite clear that the moon's surface did not solidify from a global ocean of lava even 10-20 km deep. Therefore, any melting which occurred on the moon (and produced the observed chemical differentiation of the crustal rocks) could have taken place only locally - over areas of the size of the lunar maria, but not over the moon as a whole at the same time.

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