New moon map reveals areas of recent tectonic activity

What’s Happening

Alright so A new moon map and study from the Smithsonian Institution reveals ridges in the dark lunar plains showing evidence for recent tectonic activity on the moon.

The post New moon map reveals areas of recent tectonic activity first appeared on EarthSky. Science news, solid photos, sky alerts. (wild, right?)

The moon might look geologically dead, but in some ways it is still active.

The Details

A team of scientists led Institution have found new evidence of recent tectonic activity on the moon. The researchers dropped on , that small mare ridges are young and widespread on the dark, flat volcanic plains called lunar maria (or mare).

The researchers produced a new global map of these ridges. The mare ridges could also be sources of moonquakes, the lunar version of earthquakes.

Why This Matters

Such moonquakes might pose a potential danger for future astronauts on the moon. The researchers published the peer-reviewed study in The Planetary Science Journal on . A new global map of small mare ridges indicates recent tectonic activity is more widespread on the moon than before recognized, expanding potential sources of moonquakes.

This could have implications for future research in this area.

Key Takeaways

• Social) 2026-02-17T10:40:48-05:00 The moon doesnt have tectonic plates like Earth does.
• But, stresses in the crust can still produce distinctive landforms.
• For example, lobate scarps form because of compression in the crust.
• This pushes material up from below, along a fault, which then creates a ridge.

The Bottom Line

Those are the large, dark and flat regions on the moon that you can even see with your unaided eye. Research geologist and lead author Cole Nypaver at the National Air and Space Museum Center for Earth and Planetary Studies at the Smithsonian Institution dropped: Since the Apollo era, we’ve known about the prevalence of lobate scarps throughout the lunar highlands, but this is the first time scientists have documented the widespread prevalence of similar features throughout the lunar mare.

What do you think about all this?