The moon appears a fracture due to Earth attraction

A new study, published in the journal Geology, shows that the surface of the Moon has many convex cracks due to the force of attraction from the Earth.

The moon appears protruding due to the tide on Earth

According to Space.com, gravity from the Moon causes Earth's tides, so according to Newton's Law of 3, Earth will also exert a similar force on the Moon. But recently, scientists have found evidence of this effect: Cracks on the surface of the Moon.

Thomas Watters, an astronomer currently studying at the Smithsonian Institution's National Air and Space Museum in Washington, said: "Studies on celestial history let us understand. The relationship between the Earth and the Moon, but the surprise that we found is that the Earth is still distorting the Moon. "

The image from the LRO shows a major fracture in the area of ​​the Vitello Cluster on the Moon.Photos published on September 15, 2015.(Source: NASA / LRO / Arizona State University / Smithsonian Institution).

The researchers analyzed data sent from NASA's moon probe (LRO) to Moon's orbit from 2009. In 2010, they discovered that the Moon was shrinking.

The images sent showed 14 convex fractures, formed by the contraction of the celestial core, pushing the crust of the Moon to rise. For six consecutive years, with the survey of more than three-quarters of the Moon's surface, the LRO has discovered more than 3,200 such cracks.

These cracks help create characteristic small mountains on the Moon, meters high and about 10 km long. Early studies predicted these mountains to be about 50 million years old and still showing signs of being created until today.

3,200 fractures are shown on the map.(Source: NASA / LRO / Arizona State University / Smithsonian Institution).

If it is assumed that the formation of these low mountains is due to the cooling and contraction of the Moon core, these fractures must be directed randomly because the force of the Moon's core must be uniform throughout the whole can.

"But surprisingly, the direction of these cracks is not random," Mr. Watters said, "instead, thousands of samples run in the same direction. This suggests there is another cause." These fractures are on a larger scale, which is the gravitational pull from the Earth. "

Gravity from the Earth does not affect the Moon evenly. The moon almost turns only one side towards the Earth because the cycle around the Earth is almost identical to its own rotation, so the Earth's gravitational force will be stronger toward the near half of the Earth. of the Moon.

Images from the LRO show convex, young fractures.Photos published on September 15, 2015.(Source: NASA / LRO / Arizona State University / Smithsonian Institution).

This led to cracks in the Moon at the Moon's mid and low latitudes running north-south and running east-west at high latitudes near the poles of the Moon. The force exerted from Earth is less than 50 to 100 times that of the Moon's self-shrinking force, the synthesis of this gravitational pull and force has caused observable cracks.

"Thanks to the LRO, we were able to study the Moon more comprehensively than any other object in the solar system, except Earth. The data system from the LRO allowed us to look at these too. Small but important process that other systems cannot point out, "said a scientist from NASA's LRO project, John Keller.

If the fracture system is still active, small earthquakes on the Moon will occur, especially when the Moon is located far from Earth, the attraction is greatest. If there is a seismic system on the Moon, these vibrations can be recorded, according to Watters.