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Why do you see impact craters on mercury and the moon but not so much on earth?
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∙ 13y ago
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Why are there more visible impact craters on the moon than on earth?
The moon has no atmosphere and hence no weather. Weather causes erosion. Living things are another cause of erosion that happens on Earth and not on the moon. The Earth is also more tectonically active. Continental drift happens on Earth, but doesn't happen on the moon. And earthquakes and volcanoes resulting from plate tectonics also can obliterate impact craters. And even the fact that the moon has a lower gravity than the Earth helps to preserve its craters; the walls of the craters weigh less and are therefore less likely to collapse.The earth has an atmosphere and the moon does not. Very little changes on the moon but on earth the weather changes the landscape and overgrowth covers up otherwise more obvious patterns.
What is the surface of Mercury covered with?
Craters, mostly. The new Messenger photos of Mercury from just last week show craters on craters, and chains of craters. It looks a lot like the Moon, actually. You can see some photos of Mercury at the link below.
Which scientists discovered the craters of Earth's moon?
gallileo
Why doesn't the earth have craters all over it like the moon?
the earth has had its far share of craters formed in its past fof example...the bay of biscay but because of jupiters presense it sucks in debory before it reaches our planet and the moon suffers as pig in the middle
What causes the dark spots on the surface of the moon?
if you mean craters they got there from asteroids that hit the moons surface with a large impact
Why are impact craters on Earth harder to see than those on Mercury or the Moon?
Unlike Mercury of the moon, Earth is geologically active. Erosion, deposition, and plate tectonics have buried or destroyed most of Earth's craters.
Is mercury and the moon covered with craters on the surfaces?
Yes, Mercury and the Earth's moon are covered with craters on the surfaces
What is the main reason that impact craters on the Moon last much longer than impact craters on earth?
Impact craters on the moon have no water/weather to erode the craters away, but on Earth the erosion erases the craters over time.
Which planet has craters like the earth moon's?
Mercury
Why do you see many impact craters on the moon but not earth?
The Earth has weather patterns that have eroded most of the craters on Earth. The moon has no weather, therefore no erosion.
Are impact craters larger on the earth or moon?
On average the craters on Moon are larger than the Earth's because the Moon has no atmosphere to shield from impactors and no weathering processes.
Can you see craters on the moon from earth?
No. Most of the impact craters that have formed on Earth have been destroyed and buried by geologic processes, processes that the moon lacks. While some recent impact craters on Earth remain visible on the surface, they are too small to be seen from the moon.
Why are craters preserved on the moon but not on earth?
Earth is geologically active and has wind and water to erode craters. The moon is geologically dead and has no atmosphere and thus no erosion. There is nothing on the moon to destroy impact craters.
Why does earth lack craters?
Earth does have impact craters, but it has much few than the moon or Mercury and many of them are not readily visible. The main reason is that Earth has many active geologic processes that renew and change its surface, burying and destroying impact craters. If an impact crater on Earth is clearly visible then it probably formed quite recently in geologic history. Many of the impact craters on the moon and Mercury are billions of years old, dating to when the solar system was young and large asteroid impacts were far more common than they are now. Very little of Earth's crust from that time remains intact. By contrast craters on Earth that are tens of millions of years old are not readily visible.
Common between mercury's surface and earth's moon surface?
The surface is pitted with meteor impact craters. See related links for pictorial
How mercury and Earth's moon similar?
they have the same size + lots of craters
Why does the moon have circles?
Those are impact craters from when it was hit by meteors. The moon has no weather, so they never got erased like most of the impact craters that were on Earth's surface.
