The Cow Jumped Over The Shrunken Moon ?

Yes. The moon is shrinking. How can this be happening ? This is all because of the lobate scarps. They are made when land on one side of a geologic fault line is thrust upward and creates a slanting wall. About 70 of these were found near the moon’s equator. But then 14 more were found in widespread locations, suggesting that they are globally distributed across the moon’s surface. Thomas Watters, study co-author of the Center for Earth and Planetary Studies at the National Air and Space Museum in Washington D.C., says that the scarps formed as the inside of the moon cooled from its original state. As the interior is cooling, it contracts and the crust of the moon has to adjust to the decreased volume. These scarps, however, seemed to have formed about a billion years ago, relatively recent as the moon is about 4.6 billion years old.Watters mentions that they are micrometeorite bombardments on the moon and that they are not going to last very long. Watters also estimates that the moon has shrunk about 600 feet since it first formed. Heat is the key to the overall evolution of the planet and the moon is thought to have lost its heat a long time ago as small planetary bodies tend to lose their heat rather quickly. The moon might be shrinking but its rate of the contraction is slowing down, and therefore the shrinkage will stop. This is because the interior of the moon is cooling more, so it is going to contract less and eventually stop.

This relates to science concepts because the moon, is part of our solar system, and it is important to know what goes on in our solar system, as Earth is also part of it. Imagine that the moon shrinks completely. What will happen to the nights on Earth ? What will shine up in the night’s sky ? Scientists now have to take a closer look at the moon and make sure that the shrinking really does stop and does not increase, because then there will be a major crisis out here on Earth. Scientists have the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, which is scheduled to keep operating and imaging the moon for the next two years.

We, as inhabitants of this planet, have to care deeply about this topic. The fact that the moon is shrinking is a global problem that affects everyone, and also affects the Solar System. We have to know what is going on up there, in the Solar System, because that might affect our living styles down here on Earth. Scientists are trying everyday to improve life on Earth, and now that the moon is shrinking, a solution must be found so it can be stopped. We may ask how much smaller can the moon get and so forth, but scientists can’t answer this question. Only Nasa’s lunar spacecraft can answer this question, as mentioned in teh article. Therefore, we have to be aware for the answer and really know what is going on in our planet and solar system, because if these things are in trouble– then so are we !

Source:http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2010/08/100819-science-space-moon-shrinking-scarps-cooling-lunar-orbiter/