What the moon is REALLY made of: Radio telescopes give unprecedented look under the lunar surface
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Two huge radio telescopes have given scientists a rare look beneath the surface of the moon.
Radar signals beamed from the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico — the world's largest radio dish, with a diameter of 1,000 feet — penetrated deep into the moon.
They then bounced back and were detected by the Green Bank Telescope in West Virginia, the planet's biggest, fully steerable radio telescope at 330 feet wide.
A lunar impact crater known as Aristillus. The dark ¿halo¿ surrounding the crater is due to pulverized debris beyond the rugged, radar-bright rim deposits. The crater is approximately 55 kilometers (34 miles) in diameter and 3.5 kilometers (2 miles) deep.
HOW THEY DID IT
To make these images, radar signals beamed from Arecibo's powerful transmitter penetrated far below the Moon's dusty surface.
The signals then rebounded back and were picked up by the sensitive receivers on the GBT.
This observing technique, known as bistatic radar, has been used to study many objects in our Solar System, including asteroids and other planets.
Researchers use this technique, called bistatic radar, to study many solar system objects, from asteroids to other planets.
In this case, it revealed subsurface details in two lunar locales, the Sea of Serenity and a crater called Aristillus.
Scientists were able to peer 33 to 50 feet beneath the Sea of Serenity, which is near the site where NASA's final manned lunar effort, the Apollo 17 mission, touched down in December 1972.
Light and dark areas visible in the images reveal details of rock and dust composition, researchers said.
The radar images also provide a new perspective on Aristillus crater, which is about 34 miles wide and 2.2 miles deep.
'The dark 'halo' surrounding the crater is due to pulverized debris beyond the rugged, radar-bright rim deposits," representatives of the National Radio Astronomy Observatory, which operates the Green Bank Telescope and a number of other instruments, said in a statement.
The image reveals previously hidden features around an area known as Mare Serenitatis, or the Sea of Serenity, which is near the Apollo 17 landing site. The radar observations were able to ¿see¿ approximately 10-15 meters (33-50 feet) below the lunar surface. The light and dark features are the result of compositional changes in the lunar dust and differences in the abundance of rocks buried within the soil.
'The image also shows traces of lava-like features produced when lunar rock melted from the heat of the impact,
'These images help planetary scientists interpret the complex history of the Moon, which is often obscured by dust layers built up over billions of years, better understand the geology of earlier landing sites, and plan for future lunar exploration.'
Aastronaut Eugene Cernan walks toward the Lunar Roving Vehicle (LRV) near the U.S. flag at the Taurus-Littrow landing site of Apollo 17. Scientists were able to peer 33 to 50 feet beneath the Sea of Serenity, which is near the site where NASA's final manned lunar effort, the Apollo 17 mission, touched down in December 1972.
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