dipper@utastro.UUCP (Debbie Byrd) (11/03/84)
This is the anniversary of what was thought to be a volcanic eruption on the moon! More -- right after this. November 3 A Volcano on the Moon The moon has long been thought to be a geologically dead world. But on today's date in 1958, the Russian astronomer Nikolai Kozyrev photographed what he called a "volcanic eruption" on the moon! Kozyrev was looking at the central peak in the crater Alphonsus. Comparing the view with an earlier photograph, he thought the peak looked unusually bright. He obtained a spectrogram and found the unmistakable signature of carbon gases containing carbon. Since the moon has no atmosphere, the presence of a gas seemed to Kozyrev to indicate material bubbling up from the moon's interior. Kozyrev's discovery sparked a great controversy among lunar scientists. But it also led many amateur astronomers to search for these so-called "transient lunar phenomena." Over the years, they reported thousands of outbursts, from which you might conclude that volcanic eruptions are common on the moon. Then, some years ago, the Association of Lunar and Planetary Observers decided to investigate the reports. Amateurs in different locations observed the moon simultaneously, and, between them, they reported several dozen outbursts. Unfortunately, no two observers reported the same outbursts. All previous data on lunar phenomena became suspect -- and, consequently, useless. Today, interest in transient lunar phenomena has waned considerably. But rumors of Kozyrev's volcano still survive, and some observing manuals still instruct amateurs to check the crater Alphonsus for signs of volcanic activity. Script by Deborah Byrd. (c) Copyright 1983, 1984 McDonald Observatory, University of Texas at Austin
chongo@nsc.UUCP (Landon C. Noll) (11/06/84)
I thought the seismographs left on the moon by the Apollo teams showed that
the moon's core had cooled off long ago. Is this true? If so, one
would think that a volcano would not be possible. Anyway what is the
explination for these so-called sightings of 'eruptions'?
chongo <> /\../\
--
"Don't blame me, I voted for Mondale!"
John Alton 85'