The highlands are heavily cratered and mountainous. We have learned that the cratered are relatively young areas on the Moon which were generated after very large impacts penetrated the crust of our Moon and excavated basins. During later volcanic episodes, liquid magma came to the surface and filled these basins.
How were highlands on the Moon formed?
The Indian mission through the Moon mineralogy mapper has offered proof that the Moon’s highlands were formed by the eruption of a hot liquid inside the Moon’s surface popularly known as magma.
How were maria on the Moon formed?
The maria basins were formed beginning about 3.9 billion years ago during a period of intense bombardment by asteroid-sized bodies. This was well after the lunar crust had cooled and solidified enough, following the Moon’s formation, to retain large impact scars.
What are highlands and maria on the Moon?
The Maria are mostly composed of dark basalts, which form from rapid cooling of molten rock from massive lava flows. The Highlands rocks are largely Anorthosite, which is a kind of igneous rock that forms when lava cools more slowly than in the case of basalts.
What make up the highlands and lowlands of the Moon?
The highlands are anorthositic in composition, whereas the maria are basaltic. The maria often coincide with the “lowlands,” but it is important to note that the lowlands (such as within the South Pole-Aitken basin) are not always covered by maria.
When did the highlands form on the Moon?
3.8 billion years ago
It also established that the intense cratering of the highlands occurred more than 3.8 billion years ago. Most highland samples have ages in the range 3.8–4.3 billion years.
What are highlands on the Moon made of?
Most of the crust of the Moon (83%) consists of silicate rocks called anorthosites; these regions are known as the lunar highlands. They are made of relatively low-density rock that solidified on the cooling Moon like slag floating on the top of a smelter.
Why does the Moon have maria?
During the formation of the Moon, lava flows were able to move through this thinner crust and flood the basins on the near side, but not as much on the far side of the Moon. The areas of these lava flows are what we now call maria, which is Latin for “seas”.
How were the maria of the Moon formed quizlet?
maria formed when, before the moon’s crust completely solidified, several large bodies struck the surface, making huge craters. molten material from within the moon flooded the crater and congealed to become the smooth, dark law plains of the maria.
How did the maria on the Moon’s surface form quizlet?
1 – Craters formed when rocks from space collided with the moon. 2 – Maria formed when lava flowed out of the moon, filled large craters, and cooled to solid rock. The composition of the moon and the composition of Earth’s mantle are similar.
What is the difference between mare and highlands on the Moon?
Maria vs. Highlands
The side facing the earth consists of dark (basaltic) lava filled basins called mare (maria) or seas. The lighter areas are heavily impacted terrain called the highlands. These contrasting features can easily be seen with the naked eye.
What is the difference between a maria a highland and a crater on the Moon?
Compared to geology of the Lunar Highlands: ● Lunar highlands have more impact craters than the mare. So, the highlands are older. They are the same age as the highlands because both features were formed by the hardening of lava. Also, they are mafic in composition, which means they were created by magma.
What type of rock are the highlands on the Moon?
Anorthosite
Anorthosite is an important rock type on the surface of the Moon as it makes up most of the lunar highlands and crust. This sample collected by the astronauts of Apollo 16 has been determined to be 4.19 billion years old.
What formed the highlands?
The chain of volcanic islands collided with the Grampian Highlands about 480–460 million years ago. This is called the Grampian Event. Baltica collided with the Northern Highlands about 440 million years ago, pushing together the Northern Highlands and North-west Seaboard. This is called the Scandian Event.
What are the highlands of the Moon called?
There are several prominent maria. The maria cover only 15 percent of the lunar surface. The remainder of the lunar surface consists of the bright highlands, or terrae. Highlands are rough, mountainous, heavily cratered regions.
What are the highlands on the Moon made of quizlet?
The lunar highlands are light-colored areas elevated above the Maria. The highlands are largely made of low-density rocks rich in aluminum. The highlands are much older than the maria and are much more heavily cratered.
What are the maria and where did they come from?
The lunar maria (/ˈmɑːriə/; singular: mare /ˈmɑːreɪ/) are large, dark, basaltic plains on Earth’s Moon, formed by ancient asteroid impacts on the far side on the Moon that triggered volcanic activity on the opposite (near) side.
Why are the maria on the Moon less heavily cratered than the highlands?
The maria were formed after large impacts from meteors carved out basins in the lunar crust. When the Moon was volcanic, magma seeped to the surface, filled the basins and eventually hardened, resulting in the relatively smooth flat areas seen today.
Why are maria found only on the earth facing side of the moon?
The Moon’s rotation is tidally locked, so one side always faces the Earth.
Is the maria the original crust of the moon?
When the Moon first formed, it was hot enough for the surface to be covered by a great ocean of molten rock. As this solidified, on occasion large meteors would hit the Moon and crack the thin, still-forming crust. Then molten rock came to the surface once more, becoming the maria we see today.
Why is there no maria on the far side of the moon?
The cooler far side experienced condensation of these elements sooner and so formed a thicker crust; meteoroid impacts on the near side would sometimes penetrate the thinner crust here and release basaltic lava that created the maria, but would rarely do so on the far side.