A topographic view of the South Pole-Aitken Basin. Reds are high; blues are low. Mafic Mound, (the reddish area in the center) stands 800 meters above the surrounding surface. Credit: NASA/Goddard/MIT/Brown
Within a giant impact basin near the moon’s south pole, there sits a large mound of mysterious origin. Research by geologists suggests the mound was formed by unique volcanic processes set in motion by the impact that formed the basin. The formation, known as Mafic Mound, stands about 800m tall and 75 km across, smack in the middle of a giant impact crater known as the South Pole-Aitken Basin. This new study suggests that the mound is the result of a unique kind of volcanic activity set in motion by the colossal impact that formed the basin.
“If the scenarios that we lay out for its for...
Read More
Recent Comments