Custom Image Caption
Lunar Stretch Marks
A series of small, narrow troughs (upper half)—so small they could only be found in high-resolution images—formed where the lunar crust is stretching. As it stretches, the crust breaks apart along faults, and sections drop down into narrow troughs called graben. Chains of circular pits, formed when the lunar soil drains into voids, are found within these troughs. Like many other fault features on the Moon, these graben are very young. They show that the shrinking Moon is not shrinking everywhere.
Image ID: M104756463R
Camera: NAC
Image width: 4.8 km (3 mi.)