Abstract
RECENT observations by Kozyrev (private communication) of transient emission bands of the carbon molecule in the spectrum of the central peak of the lunar crater Alphonsus have strikingly re-opened the age-old problem of the origin of these most characteristic landmarks of the lunar surface; and the dilemma between the volcanic and impact phenomena appears once again to face us in a new form. While more definite conclusions bearing on the first alternative will have to await a determination, now under way, of the temperature of the carbon gas discharge in Alphonsus from the relative intensities of the observed Swan bands of its spectrum, it may be pertinent to point out at this time that the impact theory of the origin of the principal surface features of the Moon may require re-examination and reassessment also on completely independent grounds, some of which will be discussed below.
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KOPAL, Z. Origin of the Lunar Craters and Maria. Nature 183, 169–170 (1959). https://doi.org/10.1038/183169a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/183169a0
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