Move over, crater selfies! A team of researchers from the Chinese mainland’s Sun Yat-sen University in south China’s Guangdong Province has spotted fresh landslides on the moon that formed since 2009. It turns out these mini slides weren’t sparked by asteroid impacts but by endogenic moonquakes shaking up the lunar surface. 🌑🚀
Using multi-temporal images of the moon’s most unstable slopes, the scientists found:
- Shallow, small landslides displacing under 100,000 cubic meters of rock and dust 📸
- Slides mostly shorter than 1 kilometer and under 100 meters wide 🌒
- Less than 30% linked to new impact craters (largest over 70 meters across) 💥
Most slides cluster east of the Imbrium Basin, hinting at hidden seismic hotspots below the surface. By mapping these lunar landslides, researchers can pinpoint active seismic zones and plan where to place future seismometers for an inside look at the moon’s interior. 🔍🌕
This lunar detective work opens a clear path for upcoming missions to study moonquakes, revealing fresh insights into our closest neighbor and making space geology as exciting as a blockbuster sci-fi plot! 🎬✨
Reference(s):
cgtn.com
