A Lunar Rille
Explanation:
What could cause a long indentation on the
Moon?
First discovered over 200 years ago with a small telescope,
rilles (rhymes with pills) appear all over the
Moon.
Three types of
rilles are now recognized:
sinuous
rilles,
which have many meandering curves,
arcuate rilles which form sweeping arcs, and
straight rilles, like
Ariadaeus Rille pictured above.
Long rilles such as
Ariadaeus Rille extend for hundreds of kilometers.
Sinuous rilles are now thought to be remnants of ancient lava flows,
but the origins of arcuate and linear rilles are still a
topic of research.
The
above linear rille was photographed by the
Apollo 10 crew in 1969 during their historic approach
to only 14-kilometers above the
lunar surface.
Two months later,
Apollo 11, incorporating much knowledge gained from
Apollo 10, landed on the Moon.
Authors & editors:
Robert Nemiroff
(MTU) &
Jerry Bonnell
(USRA)
NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings,
and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris.
Specific
rights apply.
A service of:
LHEA at
NASA /
GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
