The Changing Face of the Moon: Exploring the Ancient History of Giant Impacts and VolcanismNational Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC
Free, Tickets Required
4:30 p.m. Discovery Station (in front of Welcome Center) 5:45p.m. Planetarium presentation 6:45 p.m. Telescope observing at Public Observatory, weather permitting
The Moon, with its lack of both plate tectonics and an active hydrologic cycle, acts as a recorder of the events that have unfolded in our region of the solar system. Using Smithsonian research, Gareth Morgan will talk about ways in which Earth-based radar contributes to understanding the Moon’s history. He will discuss how the giant impacts that struck the Moon over 3.7 billion years ago shaped the early crust, how the resulting basins have been modified by lava flows and further impacts, and how the culmination of these events continues to alter the Moon's appearance.
The Smithsonian’s Stars Lecture Series is made possible by a grant from NASA.
The Galileo spacecraft took this image on December 7, 1992 on its way to explore the Jupiter system.
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