Shrinking Moon May Explain Lunar Quakes

[Tormod]

The moon has shrunk in the past billion years, and may still be shrinking today, triggering moonquakes and making the moon a more active body than previously thought.

 

The shrinkage has wrinkled parts of the moon's surface like a raisin, creating pinched formations called lobate scarps.

 

Apollo astronauts imaged some of these wrinkles near the moon's equator 40 years ago. Now, new images from NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) have revealed 14 more. Some of these lie near the poles, showing that the scarps occur all over the moon's surface.

 

Full story at New Scientist:

http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn19342-shrinking-moon-may-explain-lunar-quakes.html