Lunar Transient Phenomena

Distribution of LTPs (LTPs appearing as reddish haze red, others yellow)

As transient lunar phenomenon (LTP, also Transient Lunar Phenomena, TLP; moon transient phenomena) short-term, local brightness or color changes are on the surface of the moon denotes that are perceived at astronomical observation. The astronomer Patrick Moore coined the term Transient Lunar Phenomena in 1968 .

More than 1500 such observations have been reported. Many, however, are very doubtful, as they were mainly made by inexperienced observers under extreme conditions - however, a few sightings have also been made by experienced astronomers. In 1958 , for example, the Soviet astronomer Nikolai Kosyrew succeeded in making a spectral recording of such a phenomenon in the Alphonsus crater . In this lunar transient phenomena spectrum he believed to be able to recognize the spectral distribution of carbon in molecular connection.

The cause of the Lunar Transient Phenomena is still unknown, small impact events on the lunar surface are believed to be the cause, but a residual volcanism of the moon is mainly held responsible. Although the moon has cooled substantially and shows no signs of active volcanism, smaller, still-molten areas could exist from which volcanic gases to the surface reach and turbulence of the regolith changing the albedo effect. This assumption is also supported by the fact that the observations are strongly concentrated on a few lunar craters : Almost a third of the observations were made over Aristarchus ; in addition, Plato and Alphonsus are apparently also very active. There were also observations about Agrippa , Tycho , Kepler , Grimaldi , Copernicus , Bessel , Cassini , Messier , Ptolemaeus , Mare Crisium , Vallis Schröteri and other lunar surface structures.

The study of this phenomenon is coordinated by the Association of Lunar & Planetary Observers in the Department of Planetary Sciences at the University of Arizona at Tucson .

See also

• Earthquake light

Web links

• Mysterious Moon Flashes Signs of "Last Gasps"? National Geographic magazine, March 2, 2009
• Lunar Outgassing, Transient Phenomena, and the Return to the Moon. I. Existing Data, Abstract The Astrophysical Journal 687, 2008, 692-705
• Transient Lunar Phenomena Studies Columbia University, New York
• Lunar Transient Phenomena: What Do the Clementine Images Reveal? Icarus 146, no.1, pp. 98–117, 2000 (PDF, MB1,2 accessed April 16, 2009; 1.18 MB)
• transient lunar phenomena (TLPs) daviddarling.info

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Neil Bone: Observing meteors, comets, supernovae and other transient phenomena. Springer, London 1999, ISBN 1-85233-017-1 , pp. 70ff.
2. ↑ Cruz Roa AF: Activity in the lunar surface: Transient Lunar Phenomena. @ arxiv.org
3. ↑ Mysterious Moon Flashes: Could the Transient Lunar Phenomena be Linked to the Solar Cycle? universetoday.com
4. ↑ CHRONOLOGICAL CATALOG OF REPORTED LUNAR EVENTS (PDF)
5. ↑ Lunar Transient Phenomena nasa.gov, accessed March 12, 2016
6. ↑ Arlin Crotts PS: Transient Lunar Phenomena: Regularity and Reality arxiv.org
7. ↑ Vincent S. Foster: Modern mysteries of the moon - what we still don't know about our lunar companion. Springer, Cham 2016, ISBN 978-3-319-22119-9 , p.218; Lunar Transient Phenomena Catalog Extension pdf, accessed May 9, 2016