Friday, May 20, 2011

Post 2500: LROC, "Steps in Slipher S."


Boulders on the floor of Slipher S . Some are covered with impact melt, while others are well exposed. The Sun angle is from the bottom right, and the crater floor is sloped downward toward top left. LROC Narrow Angle Camera (NAC) observation M156558063RE, LRO orbit 8206, April 4, 2011; image field of view is 650 meters. View the full-size LROC Featured Image HERE [NASA/GSFC/Arizona State University].

Drew Enns
LROC News System

Boulders are a common feature on the Moon, in and out of craters. These boulder steps occur within the crater floor of Slipher S (49.2°N, 158.7°E), an Eratosthenian crater.

Slipher S's floor is uneven and covered with impact melt. These boulders were likely created in the Slipher S impact event, while at the same time they were covered by impact melt. The uneven topography of the crater floor provides many sloped surfaces for the boulders to weather out of, and in this case has caused steps to form!


LROC context image of LROC Featured Image, May 19, 2011, framed within the white square. Image field of view is 100 kilometers. View the full-sized context image HERE [NASA/GSFC/Arizona State University].

Look for more boulders and impact melt in the full LROC NAC image!

Related Posts:
Bouncing, Bounding Boulders!
Exposed Boulders in Aitken Mare

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