Earth's Moon Hit by Surprising Number of Meteoroids
The moon experiences a heavier bombardment by small meteoroids than models had predicted, according to new observations from NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) spacecraft. The result implies that lunar surface features thought to be young because they have relatively few impact craters may be even younger than previous estimates. Read more
The moon has hundreds more craters than we thought
A new count of the moon's craters has turned up 33 per cent more than predicted. Bombardment by small meteors is continually churning up the surface of the moon, and the dust-up could pose hazards to future lunar settlements. Previous studies of craters and of Apollo samples helped paint a picture of past crater formation, but we've only recently begun to distinguish new craters amid the moon's already-battered surface. It turns out some of them may be newer than we thought. Read more
Names for seven craters in the Apollo basin have been provisionally approved by the International Astronomical Union to honour the seven Space Shuttle Columbia astronauts. Read more