Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera

Impact melt tongue

A bouldery tongue of impact melt in Jackson crater. Image number M133892450L, incidence angle 75°, image scale 0.83 m/pixels [NASA/GSFC/Arizona State University].

Another beautiful impact melt feature found in Jackson crater! This thin flow of impact melt spreads across the surface of a terrace. The boulders around the edges of the flow may have eroded out of the flow, or were carried there by the impact melt. In the upper right hand corner of the image, there are many large boulders, as well as smooth areas which are impact melt. The impact melt flow seems to originate from that area. Since the large boulders are on top of the impact melt, the impact melt probably landed in the spot first, and the large boulders are a later addition, falling down from a point higher up on Jackson's wall.   

Jackson crater, located at 22.4°N, 163.1°W. 71 km in diameter. The red box shows the location of the featured NAC frame [NASA/GSFC/Arizona State University].

Look in the full NAC frame for more exciting impact melt flows!

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