Will the Moon disappear? (X)
New Delhi: Is the Moon shrinking? Will it gradually disappear completely? A recently published study makes these claims. According to research published on October 14 in the Planetary Science Journal, the Moon is shrinking. It says it has shrunk 148 feet in the last 400 years. The study was led by Thomas R. Waters, a senior scientist at the Center for Earth and Planetary Studies at the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum. They used observations from the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter camera.
Researchers analyzed millions of images taken by orbiter cameras over a 17-year period to understand how the Moon's structure changes as it cools. The study concluded that the Moon will shrink by 6 to 11 centimeters every million years. This is much slower than the average speed of Earth's plates and is comparable to the rate at which a fingernail grows. Scientists attribute this to heat escaping from Earth's interior.
Although the Moon has been shrinking for millions of years, scientists had predicted that it would not disappear from view. This study, 'Thrust Faulting and the Late-Stage Contraction of the Moon', highlights another area. This contraction and tearing of the Moon's outer layer creates small shield-like peaks called lobate scarps. This contraction causes moonquakes, with thousands of tiny cracks on the Moon's surface. NASA needs to take this into account when planning future missions. During the study, more than 10,000 new cracks were also observed on the Moon's surface.
The study states that as the Moon cools and shrinks, slips and cracks can form anywhere on its surface. This is unlike Earth. In fact, on Earth, about 90 percent of all seismic activity occurs near the boundaries of lithospheric plates. However, the Moon is a single-plate body, where cracks are a concern. This means that earthquakes can occur anywhere on the Moon.
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