PIA13503: A Molten Flood
 Target Name:  Moon
 Is a satellite of:  Earth
 Mission:  Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO)
 Spacecraft:  Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO)
 Instrument:  Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera (NAC)
 Product Size:  1000 x 1000 pixels (w x h)
 Produced By:  Arizona State University
 Other  
Information: 
More details and images at LROC
 Full-Res TIFF:  PIA13503.tif (1.001 MB)
 Full-Res JPEG:  PIA13503.jpg (167.1 kB)

Click on the image above to download a moderately sized image in JPEG format (possibly reduced in size from original)

Original Caption Released with Image:

A flood of impact melt swept away from the rim of Necho crater. NAC image M119041553; scene width is 540 meters, or 1771 feet.

Large impacts are catastrophic events for the local area. Besides the huge craters they leave behind (this one is 30 kilometers, or 19 miles, across), impacts heat portions of the crust to such high temperatures that rocks melt and flow like lava, as seen in today's featured image. These melts run downhill, cool and solidify, leaving behind beautiful flow features also highlighted in several past featured images.

Image Credit:
NASA/GSFC/Arizona State University

Image Addition Date:
2010-07-29