Featured Images
Ejecta Blanket
The pattern of ejecta from a young crater is still preserved on the floor of Van de Graaff crater. The variations in albedo (bright and dark areas in the ejecta) indicate either different surface exposure times, grain sizes, or...
Published on 23 Sep 2010
Immature Ejecta
This crater in the floor of Van de Graaff crater has a high reflectance ejecta blanket compared to the surrounding low reflectance material. The contrast in albedo is due to the crater excavating "fresh" or "immature" material from...
Published on 22 Sep 2010
Ejecta from Van de Graaff Crater
The texture of ejecta thrown from Van de Graaff Crater along the northern rim, seen from a low Sun angle in the NAC image (incidence angle is 72°). This subset of the NAC image M115177455R has a width of 980 m [NASA/GSFC/Arizona State...
Published on 21 Sep 2010
New Views of Lunar Pits
Spectacular high Sun view of the Mare Tranquillitatis pit crater revealing boulders on an otherwise smooth floor. Image is 400 meters wide, north is up, NAC M126710873R [NASA/GSFC/Arizona State University].
Published on 14 Sep 2010
Natural Bridge on the Moon!
Another amazing bit of lunar geology revealed by LROC! NAC M113168034R, north is up [NASA/GSFC/Arizona State University].
Published on 07 Sep 2010
Necho's jumbled floor
The chaotic floor of Necho crater attests to the dynamic environment immediately after the impact event. NAC image M115502787R, scene is 960 m across [NASA/GSFC/Arizona State University].
Published on 02 Sep 2010
Impact melt at Necho crater
Impact melt that flowed from the rim shortly after the formation of Necho crater. NAC image M134374642R, scene is 620 m across [NASA/GSFC/Arizona State University].
Published on 01 Sep 2010
Necho's Terraces
Closeup view of the spectacular western terrace of Necho crater. NAC image M134388215R; scene width is 660 m [NASA/GSFC/Arizona State University].
Published on 31 Aug 2010
Hummocky Terrain
NAC image M115475912R shows hummocky terrain north of the central peak of Tsiolkovskiy, still within the crater rim but outside the region flooded by mare basalt. The hummocks formed as the crater rebounded after the shock of impact...
Published on 26 Aug 2010
Central Peak/Mare Boundary
The central peak of Tsiolkovskiy crater is surrounded with mare basalt. This NAC frame shows where boulders rolled down the central peak and onto the mare basalt (note the boulder trails). The central peaks of larger lunar craters like...
Published on 25 Aug 2010
Fractures in the mare of Tsiolkovskiy Crater
Small fractures in the mare floor of Tsiolkovskiy Crater are a departure from the usual scene of smooth mare pitted with impact craters. As the mare cools, fractures like these can form, or these fractures might have formed due to...
Published on 24 Aug 2010
Photogrammetric Processing of LROC NAC Stereo Images
High-resolution 3D Digital Terrain Model (DTM) of a lunar crater created from a LROC NAC stereo pair. The scale bar on the left is the elevation in meters [NASA/GSFC/Arizona State University/Ohio State University].
Published on 12 Aug 2010
Volcanoes in Lacus Mortis
Most of the craters on the Moon formed through impact processes. However, some craters, like the one visible in this portion of LROC NAC frame M131488521R, may be a volcano summit pit crater. Crater diameter is ~400 m, the image width...
Published on 10 Aug 2010
A path not taken
Mare surface in Sinus Aestuum near a lunar exploration site proposed in the late 1950s. Image width is 460 m [NASA/GSFC/Arizona State University].
Published on 05 Aug 2010
Concentric crater
The inner rim of Gruithuisen K (35.4° N, 317.3° E) in LROC NAC frame M111877130L. Image width is 510 meters, north is up, and sunlight is from the lower right [NASA/GSFC/Arizona State University].
Published on 04 Aug 2010
A molten flood
A flood of impact melt swept away from the rim of Necho crater. NAC image M119041553; scene width is 540 m [NASA/GSFC/Arizona State University].
Published on 29 Jul 2010
Not your average complex crater
The small, irregular terraces on the walls of Bürg Crater and the debris piles and outcropping wall material, with strong variations in reflectance, only hint at the geologic diversity of this complex crater. Bürg's crater rim is on the...
Published on 28 Jul 2010
New Impact Crater on the Moon!
New impact crater on the Moon! Since this crater is not visible in images from the Apollo 15 mission, it formed sometime in the last 38 years. The new crater is only ~10 meters (30 feet) across, but its bright ejecta extends much...
Published on 27 Jul 2010
A Dark Cascade at Sulpicius Gallus
LROC NAC close-up of the wall of a suspected volcanic vent within the regional pyroclastic deposit near Sulpicius Gallus. Image M124505982R, view is 517 m across [NASA/GSFC/Arizona State University].
Published on 22 Jul 2010
Bhabha sinks into the shadows
Last rays striking central peak of Bhabha crater just before sunset. View from the west looking east; image M133982125 [NASA/GSFC/Arizina State University].
Published on 21 Jul 2010