Ka-Pow! Fresh Lunar Impact Crater
High-reflectance ejecta and low-reflectance impact melt streamers surround this fresh impact crater.
High-reflectance ejecta blankets the terrain surrounding a ~650 m diameter crater (26.525°N, 93.518°E). From samples collected during the Apollo missions we know that high-reflectance ejecta represents recently exposed material that has not yet been affected by space weathering processes (maturity rays) or material exposed that is a different composition than the surrounding area (compositional rays). The impact crater in the opening image formed near the base of the central peak of Joliot crater (~173 km diameter, 25.79°N, 93.39°E), the floor of which was partially flooded with volcanic material. What type of ejecta rays are observed in today’s Featured Image – compositional or maturity?
