Why Do Craters Exist on the Moon?
Why Do Craters Exist on the Moon?
Because Earth is far larger
than the Moon, a meteoroid has a larger area to impact, increasing the
likelihood that it may collide with the planet. On the other hand, we only know
of roughly 180 craters on Earth but we can see thousands on the Moon! How come?
In actuality, during the course of their lengthy
4.5 billion-year histories, both the Earth and the Moon have been struck
numerous times.
Where did all the craters on Earth vanish?
The primary
distinction between the two is that Earth possesses mechanisms that may
virtually completely wipe out any traces of previous collisions. Moon doesn't
do that. On the Moon's surface, very much any small ding will remain there.
Earth's surface is
kept clear of craters thanks to three mechanisms. The first one is known as
erosion. Plants, water, and weather all exist on Earth. Together, these cause
the ground to deteriorate and disintegrate. Over time, erosion can reduce a
crater to almost nothing.
Because the Moon lacks an atmosphere,
it erodes very little. As a result, there is no wind, no weather, and most
definitely no vegetation. On its surface, almost nothing can erase traces once
they have been formed. The sand-filled footprints left by past Moonwalkers are
still visible today, and they won't be disappearing any time soon.
The second factor is a concept known as
tectonics. Tectonic processes are what cause the surface of our planet to
create new rocks, eliminate old rocks, and move over millions of years.
The
Earth's surface has been recycled numerous times over the course of its long
history because of tectonics. Because of this, the majority of rocks on Earth
are far younger than those on the Moon. For billions of years, there was no
tectonic activity on the Moon. That gives craters a lot more time to form and
persist.
Volcanism is the third
component. Impact craters can be hidden by volcanic flows. This is a
significant mechanism by which impact craters elsewhere in our solar system are
covered over, but it is not as significant as the recycling of crust on Earth.
Large volcanic flows that formerly covered up many of the larger earlier
impacts were present on the Moon, but they haven't been present for about three
billion years.
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