Lunar craters: the story on HearLore

Volcanoes Versus Projectiles

Scientific opinion swung back and forth over the following centuries regarding origin theories. Grove Karl Gilbert argued in 1893 that large asteroid impacts formed the craters. Ralph Baldwin wrote in 1949 that most were of impact origin. Gene Shoemaker revived this idea around 1960 with renewed vigor. David H. Levy noted that Shoemaker viewed these sites as explosive events occurring in seconds rather than eons. Competing theories included volcanic eruptions blasting holes in the surface. Another German theory called Welteislehre suggested glacial motion created the formations between world wars. Evidence from Apollo missions eventually proved meteoric impact or asteroid strikes caused almost all lunar craters.

Apollo Data Confirms Impact

Data collected during the Apollo Project settled the debate definitively. Uncrewed spacecraft from the same period provided additional proof for impact origins. The Moon lacks water, atmosphere, and tectonic plates to cause erosion. This absence allows craters to survive for over two billion years. Scientists determine age by counting smaller craters contained within larger ones. Older craters accumulate more small features over time. The largest known crater spans approximately 2,992 kilometers near the south pole. Many lunar maria formed from giant impacts filled later by upwelling lava.

When did Galileo Galilei first observe lunar craters with a telescope?

Galileo Galilei pointed his first telescope toward the Moon on the 30th of November 1609. He observed mountains and cup-like depressions instead of a perfect sphere.

Who named lunar features as craters and when was this term applied?

Johann Hieronymus Schröter applied the name crater to these features in 1791. The word derived from the Greek term for a wine vessel before he used it.

What evidence proved that meteoric impacts caused almost all lunar craters?

Evidence from Apollo missions eventually proved meteoric impact or asteroid strikes caused almost all lunar craters. Uncrewed spacecraft from the same period provided additional proof for impact origins.

How many craters exceed one kilometer in diameter on the lunar surface?

At least 1.3 million craters exceed one kilometer in diameter on the lunar surface. Eighty-three thousand of these measure greater than ten kilometers across.

Why do lunar craters survive for over two billion years without erosion?

The Moon lacks water, atmosphere, and tectonic plates to cause erosion. This absence allows craters to survive for over two billion years.

Lunar craters.

Volcanoes Versus Projectiles

Apollo Data Confirms Impact

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