Other
Scientific paper
Oct 2010
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2010dps....42.2108m&link_type=abstract
American Astronomical Society, DPS meeting #42, #21.08; Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, Vol. 42, p.986
Other
Scientific paper
The figure of the Moon is triaxial, with three different principal moments of inertia, as expected. However, the moment differences are significantly larger than those predicted assuming hydrostatic equilibrium. This has been explained as due to a fossil bulge that retains a figure for prior rotational and tidal deformation, at a time when the Moon was closer to Earth (Jeffeys, 1915; Lambeck & Pullan, 1980; Garrick-Bethell et al.,2006). Garrick-Bethell et al. (2006) illustrated that a fossil figure can entirely account for the moment differences if it is established at a time when the orbital eccentricity was high. They approximate the Moon as a strengthless homogeneous body; however, a strengthless Moon cannot support a fossil figure over billions of years. We extend the analysis of Garrick-Bethell et al. (2006) by taking into the presence of an elastic lithosphere capable of supporting a fossil figure.
The fossil figure is established when the elastic lithosphere forms. For a 50 km thick elastic lithosphere, the moment differences can be explained by a lunar orbit with an initial semimajor axis a=17.1 Earth radii and eccentricity e=0.49 if the Moon remains locked in synchronous rotation. If the fossil figure is established during a 3:2 spin-orbit resonance, a=18.1 Earth radii and e=0.16, or a=20.0 Earth radii and e=0.60. The initial semimajor axis decreases with decreasing elastic lithospheric thickness, as expected. The initial orbital eccentricity is not sensitive to the elastic lithospheric thickness. As Lambeck & Pullan (1980) noted, it is unlikely that the moment differences are due to a fossil figure alone. Therefore, we also consider the effect of including other contributions to the moment differences.
This work is supported by the Miller Institute for Basic Research.
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