The Population of Young Craters on the Moon: New Catalog and Spatial and Temporal Analysis

• Published in: The planetary science journal Vol. 5; no. 4; pp. 89 - 106
• Main Authors: Ghent, Rebecca R., Costello, Emily S., Parker, A. H.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: The American Astronomical Society 01.04.2024; IOP Publishing
• Subjects: Earth-moon system; Impact gardening; Impact phenomena; Lunar craters; Lunar impacts; Lunar rays
• ISSN: 2632-3338; 2632-3338
• DOI: 10.3847/PSJ/ad293d

Abstract We present a new catalog of the Moon’s rayed and rocky craters from 5 to 130 km in diameter. Using data from the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter and the JAXA Kaguya/Selene missions, we identify 571 unique craters with albedo, maturity, and/or thermophysical rays, or rocky ejecta, or all of these, located between 70° S and 70° N at all longitudes. We analyze the cumulative size–frequency distribution (CSFD) and spatial distribution of these craters and find that in general the albedo-rayed population and the rocky population are consistent with an aggregate age of ∼1.2 Gyr, and both groups show deviations from the CSFD predicted by canonical production and chronology functions at diameters >30 km. Strikingly, we also find that although the rocky craters and craters with thermophysical rays show uniform spatial distributions with both longitude and latitude, the albedo-rayed craters show a strong equatorial concentration that deviates significantly from uniform and that is too large to be explained by analytical models of orbital motion.