Abstract
KOZYREV's1,2 observation of Swan bands being emitted by C2 molecules emanating from the lunar crater Alphonsus on the west shore of Mare Nubium is now widely accepted. However, his assertion that the gas evolved as a result of volcanic eruption is not as generally accepted by selenologists. There are more plausible mechanisms than volcanic eruption to account for the gas issuing periodically from Alphonsus. Urey3 has pointed out the black areas on the crater floor of Alphonsus and suggests they may be due to explosion of acetylene which could produce graphite and hydrogen. The source of the acetylene could be a stable solid carbide such as calcium carbide according to Urey3. It is interesting to note that comets are known to give the Swan band emission. There are six prominent black spots in Alphonsus, each surrounding one or more small craters as illustrated in Fig. 1. Kozyrev observed the gas evolution, however, from the centre of the elongated central peak roughly paralleling the shore of Mare Nubium. Baldwin4 considers the emanation of this gas to be a lunar degassing process rather than volcanism. For reasons presented here it is plausible that most of the gas evolution is from the region of the central peak. However, this does not preclude that the dark areas mentioned by Urey3 were not also caused by gas evolution.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 51 print issues and online access
$199.00 per year
only $3.90 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on Springer Link
- Instant access to full article PDF
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Kozyrev, N. A., Physics and Astronomy of the Moon, 361 (Academic Press, New York and London, 1961).
Kozyrev, N. A., The Moon, 263 (Academic Press, New York and London, 1962).
Urey, H. C., Astrophys. J., 134, 268 (1961).
Baldwin, R. B., The Measure of the Moon, 418 (Univ. Chicago Press, 1963).
Kozyrev, N. A., Nature, 198, 979 (1963).
Greenacre, J. A., Sky and Telescope, 26, 316 (1963).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
COHEN, A. Source of Evolution of Gas from the Lunar Crater Alphonsus. Nature 201, 1015–1016 (1964). https://doi.org/10.1038/2011015a0
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/2011015a0
Comments
By submitting a comment you agree to abide by our Terms and Community Guidelines. If you find something abusive or that does not comply with our terms or guidelines please flag it as inappropriate.