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The earth has atmosphere and liquid water, whereas Mercury has neither. Their
presence works against the appearance of impact craters in at least two ways:
1). The vast majority of material objects on a course to strike the earth burn up
in the atmosphere and never reach the surface. Those that are large enough to
survive the entry are reduced in size, mass, and speed before impact.
2). The marks left by impacts that do occur become worn down or "weathered"
by the effects of both the atmosphere and the water on earth.
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What might be responsible for most of the craters on earth's moon?
The vast majority of lunar craters are caused by meteor impacts.
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.
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.
Why does the moon has many craters but the Earth has few?
Earth is geologically active with volcanoes, tectonic plates, and has a substantial atmosphere, moving water, and glaciers. These forces are constantly changing Earth's surface. Impact craters get eroded, buried, and outright erased. The moon has no significant geologic activity, no atmosphere, and no water. As a result craters on the moon can remain almost untouched for billions of years.
What landforms do the earth and moon have?
Craters
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.
Why do you see impact craters on mercury and the moon but not so much on earth?
Because there are not as many impact craters that you can see very well on Earth like there are on the Moon and 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 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.
How many eruptions did Craters of the Moon have?
Craters on the moon are not volcanic, they are impact craters.
Does the planet Venus' have craters?
Venus has about 1,000 young craters, the biggest of which is Crater Mead, about 170 mile across. Oddly, there is no evidence on Venus of old craters like we see on the moon, Earth, and Mars. Somehow these old craters were smoothed over on Venus . . . by lava flow?? By high winds??
Does the moon have more craters than earth?
No. Earth has far fewer craters. Most that once existed on Earth have been eroded, buried, or otherwise destroyed by geologic activity.
Why do you think there are millions of impact craters on the moon and so few on Earth?
The Earth has had far more asteroid and meteorite impacts than the moon. Impact craters on Earth however are eroded by the atmosphere and water and also filled in by water and sediment. Since the moon has next to no atmosphere craters tend not to erode so they will always be visable.
What might be responsible for most of the craters on earth's moon?
The vast majority of lunar craters are caused by meteor impacts.
