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This area of the Moon has relatively few craters. Explain why this might be.
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∙ 14y ago
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Why are some areas of the moon smooth with no craters?
... as compared to Earth, I suppose. On Earth, the weather will remove most traces of craters rather quickly, in a few million years for large craters, in a fraction of a million years for smaller craters.... as compared to Earth, I suppose. On Earth, the weather will remove most traces of craters rather quickly, in a few million years for large craters, in a fraction of a million years for smaller craters.... as compared to Earth, I suppose. On Earth, the weather will remove most traces of craters rather quickly, in a few million years for large craters, in a fraction of a million years for smaller craters.... as compared to Earth, I suppose. On Earth, the weather will remove most traces of craters rather quickly, in a few million years for large craters, in a fraction of a million years for smaller craters.
Why have scientists found few impact craters on Earth?
Because there are few erosion processes on the Moon to erase the craters. The Earth has had many more impacts, but those in the ocean were covered up and those on land were eroded away.
Why does the moon appear to have dark patches on its surface?
The dark patches on the Moon are large plains which were formed by lava flows early in the Moon's history. In the past, the Moon was heavily bombarded by the material leftover from planet formation. Some of the objects which hit the Moon were very big and formed large impact basins. These basins were then flooded by the darker volcanic material from the Moon's interior. The lava flows covered any craters in their path, so these plains have very few craters compared to other places on the Moon. People once thought that these dark patches were seas on the Moon, so these regions were given the name "maria" which is the latin word for seas. The maria cover about seventeen percent of the Moon's surface and are found mainly on the side of the Moon facing Earth
How do mountains or craters on the surfaces of the earth and the moon compare with each other?
The biggest difference is the craters on the moon erode at a much slower rate. Here on earth, it takes a few thousand years for a crater to fill in and become not much more than a valley. On the moon, the craters last until ejecta from newer craters fills the holes of the older craters. The mountains of the earth are covered with snow and below the timberline lie trees. There is no snow or trees on the moon. The mountains on the moon look a lot sharper and the rocks stand out because they're not covered in dust. The lunar mountains look much rounder and the entire surface of the moon is covered in a very thin layer of dust.
What are moon craters?
The word crater (meaning bowl-shaped) is applied to two different phenomena.On planets and moons, meteor craters are the circular depressions caused by the impacts of other objects, mainly smaller asteroids and meteoroids. They are prominent on the Moon and on the planet Mercury. Some objects hit Earth in the past, but only a few landmarks still exhibit their characteristic bowl shape.The other use is to describe a volcanic caldera, or inner depression within a volcano. Many dormant volcanoes have solidified craters in their peaks, some with lakes or glaciers.
Why do craters contain maria?
Craters don't contain maria. 'Maria' (plural) are the large unbroken expanses that appear smooth, with no craters, or relatively few. 'Maria' means 'seas' ... at one time, they were thought to be oceans on the moon.
What are craters and maria?
Craters are formed when space debris collides with a body such as a planet or a moon, material is ejected to form a large cavity on the surface. Maria is the name of the dark areas on the moons surface, originally thought to be seas, but is now known to be ancient lava plains.
Why are there so few craters on the maria?
The maria are the craters. I believe it was Galileo who saw the dark spots on the moon and thought that they were seas, which is why he called them maria ("mar" being Latin for sea). Since then, advancements have been made in astronomy which have shown that the maria are not seas, but craters.
Do craters cover most of the Earth?
No. Earth has relatively few impacts craters.
What are the bright areas surrounding the Maria on the moon?
mountainous crater regions and the light colored ray systems of a few impact craters
Why do you see several impact craters on the earth but few on the moon?
There are relatively few craters identified on the surface of the Earth while there are thousands (millions) on the moon. It is hard to find one point on the moon that is not in one crater and there are craters in craters in craters. (See images in related link for Moon.) Obviously, the major reason behind this is that the craters that formed on the Earth eroded over time due to wind, rain and other natural factors which are nearly absent on the moon. Thus Earth's craters disappear over millions of years while the craters on the moon remain for billions of years. (The primary way a crater is made to disappear from the surface of the moon is by having another impact crater formed and the dust and debris from later impacts disturb or destroy or cover the original crater.)
What made an impact on the moon?
Millions upon millions of meteors. Every crater that you see on the Moon is the result of a fairly large asteroid impact. And there are craters within craters within craters, down to a few feet across. Oh, and the big plains, the "maria"? That's where TRULY ENORMOUS asteroids hit, and turned half of the Moon molten from the heat.
What is on the surfaces of moon?
There are craters on the surface of the moon
How is the face of the moon that is towards earth different from the far side?
The near side of the Moon is the one we see; maria (seas), highlands, craters, and mountains. The far side is much different. The far side is more mountainous, with fewer obvious craters and very few plains or flat areas.
Why are some areas of the moon smooth with no craters?
... as compared to Earth, I suppose. On Earth, the weather will remove most traces of craters rather quickly, in a few million years for large craters, in a fraction of a million years for smaller craters.... as compared to Earth, I suppose. On Earth, the weather will remove most traces of craters rather quickly, in a few million years for large craters, in a fraction of a million years for smaller craters.... as compared to Earth, I suppose. On Earth, the weather will remove most traces of craters rather quickly, in a few million years for large craters, in a fraction of a million years for smaller craters.... as compared to Earth, I suppose. On Earth, the weather will remove most traces of craters rather quickly, in a few million years for large craters, in a fraction of a million years for smaller craters.
How can you determine that a location on a planet or moon must have had recent geological activity?
There will be few impact craters.
Is Venus cratered?
Venus has few craters, because it is relatively young. Most of the surface is smooth volcanic plains.
