Lunar Surface

Geology of the Moon

The geology of the Moon is the structure and composition of the Moon, which is quite different from that of Earth. The Moon lacks a true atmosphere outside of a sparse layer of gas. Because of this, the relative absence of an atmosphere and water eliminates erosion due to weather. Instead, the surface is eroded much more slowly through the bombardment of the lunar surface by micrometeorites. It does not have any known form of plate tectonics, along with having a lower gravity compared to Earth. Because of its small size, it cooled faster in the early days of its formation. In addition to impacts, the geomorphology of the lunar surface has been shaped by volcanism, which is now thought to have ended less than 50 million years ago. The Moon is a differentiated body, with a crust, mantle, and core.

Surface

A surface, as the term is most generally used, is the outermost or uppermost layer of a physical object. It is the portion or region of the object that can first be observed and with which other objects first interact.

lunar

Adjective

1. Of, pertaining to, or resembling the Moon (that is, Luna, the Earth's moon).
2. Shaped like a crescent moon; lunate.

Noun

1. The middle bone of the proximal series of the carpus in the wrist, which is shaped like a half-moon.
2. An observation of a lunar distance (“the angle between the Moon and another celestial body”), especially for establishing the longitude of a ship at sea.

surface

Noun

1. The external boundary of an object or body.
2. The overside or upside of a flat object such as a table, or of a liquid.

Verb

1. To provide with a surface; to apply a surface to.
2. To rise to the surface.