AAPG Foundation is proud to be a sponsor of Earth Science Week, which continues through Saturday. ‘Earth Science Everywhere’ is this year’s theme. Tonight is the full Hunter’s moon, which is a supermoon. Tomorrow is Geologic Map Day. So much science! Let’s begin by looking up at the night sky.
The Hunter’s Moon
Tonight’s Supermoon orbits closer to Earth than any of the other full moons this year: at its nearest point, it will be 222,055 miles (357,363 kilometers) from Earth.
A supermoon occurs when a full moon comes within at least 90 percent of perigee—the moon’s closest approach to Earth in its elliptical orbit.
Supermoons only happen three or four times per year, and always appear consecutively.
A supermoon can appear up to 14 percent bigger and 30 percent brighter than the faintest moon of the year, when it’s farthest from Earth in its orbit (apogee).
Because a supermoon is in its closest approach to Earth, it can cause higher tides than usual.
Seasonal occasion: Tonight’s moon is the Hunter’s Moon, the first full moon to follow the Harvest Moon, the full moon nearest the autumnal equinox.
The Hunter’s Moon was once a signal for hunters to prepare for the upcoming winter. Since fields had recently been cleared under the Harvest Moon, hunters could easily spot game.
Our (Temporary) Mini-Moon
From September 29–November 25, passing asteroid 2024 PT5 will be pulled in by Earth’s gravity, becoming a temporary mini-moon.
The size of a bus, the asteroid’s approach will be five times farther than our permanent moon.
The asteroid will make a horseshoe path around Earth and return to its orbit around the sun.
The mini moon is too small and dim to see with amateur telescopes and binoculars, but it can be viewed using professional telescopes.
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In 2020, in a collaboration between the USGS, NASA, and the Lunar Planetary Institute, the Unified Geologic Map of the Moon was produced for the entire lunar surface.
The 1:5,000,000-scale geologic map merged Apollo-era maps with cutting-edge satellite data to classify units into type and age.
USGS researchers developed unified descriptions of the stratigraphy to resolve inconsistencies in rock names, descriptions, and ages.
Highland terrains are shown in darker, earthy tones. Maria (lava flows) and volcanic features are indicated by reds and purples.
Landforms, such as uplifted crater rims and ejecta blankets, can be compared to similar structures on Earth, as outlined in the learning activity for educators in AGI’s Earth Science Week materials.
The bottom line: The map will serve as a reference for lunar science and future human missions to the moon, such as the upcoming Artemis II and Artemis III missions.
Craters of the Moon National Monument & Preserve, Idaho
Spatter cones in the distance at Craters of the Moon
Since much of the moon’s surface is covered by volcanic materials, NASA astronauts have traveled to locations in Hawaii, Iceland, Arizona, and Idaho to prepare for lunar missions.
For more than 50 years, Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve has served as a NASA space exploration research site and an astronaut training site.
Located on the Snake River Plain, Craters of the Moon sits on the 60-mile long Great Rift. Over the past 30 million years, the region has experienced tensional stretching.
Lava erupted during eight major periods between 15,000 and 2,000 years ago, along a series of deep cracks that stretch 52 miles (84 km). The lava field covers 618 square miles (1,600 square km).
More than 60 basaltic lava flows, cinder cones, and large spatter cones are located inside Craters of the Moon.
One difference between visiting here and visiting Kilauea in Hawaii (which I wrote about a few weeks ago), is the preponderance of, and easy access to, the cinder cones and spatter cones. The spatter cones are composed of huge blobs of pyroclastic basalt that piled on top of each other. They are much larger than I expected!
The time between eruptive periods within the Craters of the Moon Lava Field averages 2,000 years, and it has been even more than that since the last eruption.
Dive deeper:View onsite research by a multi-disciplinary team of scientists from NASA and other institutions, using Craters of the Moon as an analog for volcanic processes that occur on the moon and on other solar system bodies.
Featured Fiction: Artemis by Andy Weir
Artemis by Andy Weir is set in the first lunar city. The protagonist, Jazz Bashara, a young smuggler, gets caught up in a conspiracy to sabotage the aluminum harvesters that help finance Artemis and supply its oxygen. Will she recognize the error of her ways and turn the tables on the syndicate trying to take over?
My review: As he did in The Martian, Weir adds his scientific research expertise to a heart-pounding plot, while letting the reader experience life on a distant celestial body.
Sharon Lyon
Editor, GeoLifestyle
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