Why are there so many moonquakes? A recent reanalysis of seismometers [ http://en.wikipedia…] left on the moon by the Apollo moon landings [ http://history.nasa…] has revealed a surprising number of moonquakes occurring within 30 kilometers of the surface. In fact, 28 moonquakes [ http://adsabs.harva…] were detected in data recorded between 1972 and 1977. These moonquakes [ http://science.nasa…] were not only strong enough to move furniture [ http://www.maltwood…] but the stiff rock of the moon continued vibrating for many minutes, significantly longer than the soft rock earthquakes [ http://www.crustal.…] on Earth. The cause of the moonquakes remains unknown, with one hypothesis holding that landslides [ http://earthquake.u…] in craters cause the vibrations. Regardless of the source, future moon buildings [ http://spaceflight.…] need to be built to withstand the frequent shakings. Pictured above [ http://grin.hq.nasa…] in 1969, Apollo 11 astronaut Buzz Aldrin [ http://en.wikipedia…] stands besides a recently deployed lunar seismometer [ http://www.lpi.usra…], looking back toward the lunar landing module [ http://antwrp.gsfc.…].
Explanation
Why are there so many moonquakes? A recent reanalysis of seismometers [ http://en.wikipedia…] left on the moon by the Apollo moon landings [ http://history.nasa…] has revealed a surprising number of moonquakes occurring within 30 kilometers of the surface. In fact, 28 moonquakes [ http://adsabs.harva…] were detected in data recorded between 1972 and 1977. These moonquakes [ http://science.nasa…] were not only strong enough to move furniture [ http://www.maltwood…] but the stiff rock of the moon continued vibrating for many minutes, significantly longer than the soft rock earthquakes [ http://www.crustal.…] on Earth. The cause of the moonquakes remains unknown, with one hypothesis holding that landslides [ http://earthquake.u…] in craters cause the vibrations. Regardless of the source, future moon buildings [ http://spaceflight.…] need to be built to withstand the frequent shakings. Pictured above [ http://grin.hq.nasa…] in 1969, Apollo 11 astronaut Buzz Aldrin [ http://en.wikipedia…] stands besides a recently deployed lunar seismometer [ http://www.lpi.usra…], looking back toward the lunar landing module [ http://antwrp.gsfc.…].
