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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.
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What evidence indicates that catastrophic impacts have occurred in the solar system?
Many impact craters are visible on many planets and satellites of planets. The moon is a perfect example, it is covered with craters, some of which we can see from Earth even without a telescope. We do have a few impact craters that have survived here on Earth, as well, even though the weather on Earth, over long periods of time, tends to smooth away 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.
What does moon do for earth?
- lunar dust - craters - Astronauts footprints - American flag - probably a few leftover instuments, crashed probes etc.
Where Earth shows few craters on its surface. What is the explanation for this Did Earth somehow avoid being hit during the heavy bombardment period?
Earth's atmosphere stops smaller meteors from reaching the surface, but not large ones. The real reason Earth has few impact craters is because it has many active geologic processes. Erosion, sedimentation, volcanic eruptions, and plate tectonics are constantly renewing and changing Earth's surface. Very little of Earth's crust remains from the time of the Late Heavy Bombardment, and most that does remain has been heavily altered. By contrast the moon is, for the most part, geologically dead. Asteroid and comet impacts have been the only significant changes since the moon formed. Therefore craters on the moon have remained mostly unchanged for billions of years.
How can you compare earth's craters to moons craters?
-- Water on earth may fill them in, but there's no water on the moon to do the same there. -- Craters on the earth get worn down by rain, snow, wind, hail, etc. But there's no rain, snow, wind, hail, or etc. on the moon to do the same to them there, so those there don't get worn down. -- The lack of atmosphere on the moon allows larger meteorite strikes, whereas most meteorites burn up completely or almost completely when passing through earth's atmosphere.
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 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 are there relatively few craters in the maria of the moon?
This area of the Moon has relatively few craters. Explain why this might be.
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.)
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.
Why do you see so few craters on the earth compared to the moon?
The moon is hit by many more meteorites than Earth because it has no significant atmosphere to burn them up in. Also as the earths surface is continually changing, visible craters may be filled in, smoothed over or covered up.
Do craters cover most of the Earth?
No. Earth has relatively few impacts craters.
What evidence indicates that catastrophic impacts have occurred in the solar system?
Many impact craters are visible on many planets and satellites of planets. The moon is a perfect example, it is covered with craters, some of which we can see from Earth even without a telescope. We do have a few impact craters that have survived here on Earth, as well, even though the weather on Earth, over long periods of time, tends to smooth away craters.
What evidence indicates that catastrophic impacts have occurred in the solar systems past?
Many impact craters are visible on many planets and satellites of planets. The moon is a perfect example, it is covered with craters, some of which we can see from Earth even without a telescope. We do have a few impact craters that have survived here on Earth, as well, even though the weather on Earth, over long periods of time, tends to smooth away 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.
Does the moon and the earth both have craters?
Yes both bodies have craters but the Moon has many many more. That is because it has no protective atmosphere so that any old piece of rock of any size that hits the Moon will produce a crater (sometimes only a small one, other times a big one). The Earth's atmosphere causes all but the biggest meteors to burn up before they hit the ground, which means they have to be really large to cause any kind of crater. But the Earth has a few big craters.
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.
