The highlands have low, rounded profiles that resemble the oldest, most eroded mountains on Earth (Figure 3a). Because there is no atmosphere or water on the Moon, there has been no wind, water, or ice to carve them into cliffs and sharp peaks, the way we have seen them shaped on Earth.
What causes highlands on the Moon?
“The hot liquid, magma, seems to have flowed on to the surface and taken the form of lava. The rocky remains that floated to the top appear to have transformed into the Moon’s highlands or mountains,” an Isro scientist explained.
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 are the characteristics of the Moon region?
The surface of the Moon has many features, including mountains and valleys, craters, and maria—wide flat areas that look like seas from a distance but are probably solidified molten rock. Some of these features are listed.
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 are the highlands of the Moon called?
Lighter surfaces are the lunar highlands, which receive the name of terrae (singular terra, from the Latin for earth, land), and the darker plains are called maria (singular mare, from the Latin for sea), after Johannes Kepler who introduced the names in the 17th century.
How are highlands formed?
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 elements are most common in the lunar highlands?
The lunar basalts, relatively rich in iron and many also in titanium, are found in the maria. In the highlands the rocks are largely anorthosites, which are relatively rich in aluminum, calcium, and silicon.
Whats the definition of highlands?
high·land ˈhī-lənd. : elevated or mountainous land.
What’s the definition of lunar highlands?
● Elevated areas on the moon’s surface. ● The lunar highlands are the lighter areas on the moon visible to the naked eye. ● Riddled with craters.
Which 3 characteristics describe conditions on the Moon?
The moon has no atmosphere, no weather and no oceans of water. Its surface is in a perpetual vacuum. Pairs of astronauts have lived on its surface only up to three days at a time, in the tiny Lunar Module of the Apollo program.
What are 2 characteristics of the Moon?
It is a spherical rocky body, probably with a small metallic core, revolving around Earth in a slightly eccentric orbit at a mean distance of about 384,000 km (238,600 miles). Its equatorial radius is 1,738 km (1,080 miles).
What are 3 features found on the Moon?
While the craters, highlands and maria are the moon’s three main landforms, the moon’s surface has a number of other highly visible features. For example, some impact craters have bright rays that shoot outward from the center. Also, the moon has a number of rilles, which are long, thin tunnels or trenches.
Are the Moons highlands dark?
From Earth, the lunar highlands appear as light regions while the maria – the lunar plains or “oceans” – appear dark.
What are the main differences between the Moon’s highlands and the maria quizlet?
The lava poured out and hardened over. How do maria differ from highlands. Maria are darker, less cratered, smoother, younger, higher in iron, and generally lower in elevation than the highlands. You just studied 11 terms!
How high are the highlands of the Moon?
2.5 to 3 miles
The Apollo astronauts observed that the highlands are generally about 4 to 5 km (2.5 to 3 miles) above the average lunar surface elevation, while the maria are low-lying plains about 2 to 3 km (1.2 to 1.8 miles) below average elevation.
What color are lunar highlands?
red
Areas appearing red generally correspond to the lunar highlands, while blue to orange shades indicate the ancient volcanic lava flow of a mare, or lunar sea.
What are highlands Moon NASA?
Lunar Terrain
The light areas of the Moon are known as the highlands. The dark features, called maria (Latin for seas), are impact basins that were filled with lava between 4.2 and 1.2 billion years ago.
What are the characteristics of highlands?
Highlands or uplands are areas of high elevation such as a mountainous region, elevated mountainous plateau or high hills.
What are the Highlands known for?
With no fewer than 47 distilleries spread across the region, the Highlands is Scotland’s largest geographical whisky producing area – particularly good news if you like a dram of Scotland’s famous drink. This also makes the region a tourism hotspot, with many tourists keen to sample the local produce.
What are the Highlands best known for?
What is the Scottish Highlands Most Famous For? The Scottish Highlands offers majestic and wild scenery and blissful seclusion amid lochs and mountains. This northern part of Scotland beamed to a global audience in the likes of the Harry Potter films and the Outlander TV series.