The Lumpy Gravity of the Moon
“The Moon is extraordinarily lumpy, gravitationally speaking,” Konopliv continues. “I don’t mean mountains or physical topography. I mean in mass. What appear to be flat seas of lunar lava have huge positive gravitational anomalies—that is, their mass and thus their gravitational fields are significantly stronger than the rest of the lunar crust.” Known as mass concentrations or “mascons,” there are five big ones on the front side of the Moon facing Earth, all in lunar maria (Latin for “seas”) and visible in binoculars from Earth.
Blue/violet is reduced acceleration, yellow/red is increased acceleration.
h/t to D H
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Comment from Uncle Al
Time: June 28, 2008, 11:03 am
If each mascon is centered in a big lava-filled crater… gee winkydinks! They are huge nickel-iron impactors. Overlay a magnetic field map. When do we start mining To Save Our Children? (Use lunar solar power and get terrestrial carbon credits, too!)