Lunarite
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Lunarite is the name coined by the US geologist Josiah Edward Spurr (1870-1950) in his 1945 work Geology Applied To Selenology for the granitic rock from which the high-lying regions of the moon ( Terrae ), which appear bright from the earth, mainly consist should.
This designation was based on the (from today's point of view, basically correct) idea that the surface of the moon was exclusively of magmatic origin. By analogy with magmatism on earth, Spurr concluded the nature of the two geological domains of the moon, Terrae and Maria , which can be distinguished from one another based on their brightness . This produces mainly two chemically different families of rocks, which are characterized by different brightness: SiO 2 -rich granites or rhyolites ( light ) and SiO 2- poorer basalts or gabbros ( dark ). Correspondingly, he referred to the dark stone of Mary of the Moon as Lunabas .
The hypotheses developed by Spurr, which are based exclusively on remote observations of the moon and are also to be seen in the context of the current state of research (including the non-existence of impact geology ), were made possible by the geological investigations carried out from 1969 onwards as part of the Apollo and Luna Program can only be partially confirmed. According to the analyzes of the lunar rock brought to earth, the brightly appearing highlands of the moon do not consist of granitic material, but predominantly of significantly less SiO 2 anorthosite - norite rock. This is one of the reasons why the term “lunarite” is no longer used in modern lunar research.
Individual evidence
- ^ A b Josiah Edward Spurr: Geology Applied To Selenology. Volume II: The Features of the Moon. Science Press Printing Co., Lancaster, PA, 1945, p. 20 ( HathiTrust )
- ^ Don E. Wilhelms: The geologic history of the Moon. USGS Professional Paper 1348, Department of the Interior, US Geological Survey, Washington, DC, 1987, p. 140 ( USGS )