Friday, December 2, 2011

LROC: Lichtenberg B flow

Starting at the rim of the crater Lichtenberg B, impact melt flowed and formed a channel, pushing boulders aside in the process. LROC Narrow Angle Camera (NAC) M120257109R, LRO orbit 2856, February 8, 2010; field of view 430 meters, incidence angle is 57° from 40.39 km. See the full sized LROC Featured Image HERE [NASA/GSFC/Arizona State University].
Sarah Braden
LROC News System

Lichtenberg B crater, located at 33.3°N, 61.5°W in northern Oceanus Procellarum, is a young lunar crater with a sharp rim, ejecta rays, and impact melt. 

Along the south rim, impact melt formed channels before cooling enough to come to a rest and solidify. In the Featured Image it appears that the flow of impact melt pushed boulders towards the edges of the flow, leaving behind an outline of its path. Other ejecta from the crater may have also played a role in forming the channel, since it is unclear if the amount of impact melt seen in the image is enough to have carved out the channel.

For context, Lichtenberg B from LROC Wide Angle Camera (WAC) observation M120256944C, imaged during the same pass, and the arrow marks the location of the area detailed in the LROC NAC Featured Image. The flows are located on the southern edge of the rim. Also from LRO orbit 2856, February 8, 2010; resolution 57.48 meters per pixel. View the original LROC WAC context image accompanying the release HERE [NASA/GSFC/Arizona State University].
An expanded view of the LROC Featured Image. The blue arrow points to the first part of the flow, where the channel is roughly 30 meters wide. The white arrow points to the ridge of boulders that form the sides of the channel and the red arrow points to where the flow ends, where the impact melt was topographically high to flow through a channel. View the full sized expanded image HERE [NASA/GSFC/Arizona State University].

Explore the full NAC frame of Lichtenberg B!

Related Posts:
Impact melt tongue
Channelized impact melt
Rootless impact melt flows
Splash and flow

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