Moonquakes

September 1, 2008

“A moonquake is the lunar equivalent of an earthquake. They were first discovered by the Apollo astronauts. Moonquakes are much weaker than earthquakes. According to NASA, there are at least four different kinds of moonquakes:

  • Deep moonquakes (~700 km below the surface, probably caused by tidal in origin)
  • Meteorites impact vibrations
  • Thermal quakes (the frigid lunar crust expands sunlight returns after the two week lunar night)
  • Shallow moonquakes (20 or 30 kilometers below the surface)
  • The first three mentioned above tend to be mild; however, shallow moonquakes can register up to 5.5 on the Richter scale. Between 1972 and 1977, twenty-eight shallow moonquakes were observed. On Earth, quakes of magnitude 4.5 and above can cause damage to buildings and other rigid structures.”

    [wikipedia] [NASA]

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