# Is the Moon Still geologically Active?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-moon-still-geologically-active/228149>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [February 8, 2004, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-moon-still-geologically-active/228149 "2004-02-08T18:32:42Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 7\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\
**Post date:** [February 8, 2004, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-moon-still-geologically-active/228149/1 "2004-02-08T18:32:42Z")

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In the 19th century, several astronomers (like Pickering) reported seeing lights and red areas in some lunar craters. presumably these were volcanic eruptions. Have we ever detected moon-quakes? Or is the Moon completely dead? 🆒

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**Author:** ![Starguard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8dc957/32.png) [@Starguard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Starguard)\
**Post date:** [February 8, 2004, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-moon-still-geologically-active/228149/2 "2004-02-08T18:42:25Z")

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To my knowledge…Its dead ☹

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**Author:** ![MLS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/919ad9/32.png) [@MLS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MLS)\
**Post date:** [February 8, 2004, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-moon-still-geologically-active/228149/3 "2004-02-08T19:03:31Z")

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I believe most, if not all, of the craters are impact craters.

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**Author:** ![eburacum45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eburacum45/32/8690_2.png) [@eburacum45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eburacum45)\
**Post date:** [February 8, 2004, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-moon-still-geologically-active/228149/4 "2004-02-08T19:05:22Z")

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It is just possible that Pickering saw a meteor impact;  
there was a possible naked eye impact back in 1178, recorded by some monks from Canterbury.

Nowadays it seems that this explanation for transient lunar phenomena has gone out of fashion;

but the seismological monitoring equipment left on the Moon by Apollo astronauts has not detected any activity worth mentioning, AFAIK.

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**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\
**Post date:** [February 8, 2004, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-moon-still-geologically-active/228149/5 "2004-02-08T19:29:26Z")

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I read an article recently on underground lava tubes that are thought to be on the moon. One of the questions was whether the tubes would collapse due to ‘moonquakes’. The answer given was that the moon is not active, and any lava tubes that are still intact should last forever.

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**Author:** ![Ringo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/779978/32.png) [@Ringo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ringo)\
**Post date:** [February 8, 2004, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-moon-still-geologically-active/228149/6 "2004-02-08T19:37:18Z")

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Not completely dead, but quiet. From a [url=“[http://csep10.phys.utk.edu/astr161/lect/moon/moon\_interior.html](http://csep10.phys.utk.edu/astr161/lect/moon/moon_interior.html)”]University of Tennessee site[/url}:

> [@](#):
>
> Our present picture of the Moon’s interior is that it has a crust about 65 km thick, a mantle about 1000 km thick, and a core that is about 500 km in radius. A limited amount of seismic data suggests that the outer core may be molten. There does appear to be some amount of differentiation, but not on the scale of that of the Earth. It has no magnetic field to speak of, but magnetization of Lunar rocks suggests that it may have had a larger one earlier in its history. Although there is a small amount of geological activity on the Moon, it is largely dead geologically (the energy associated with the Earth’s seismic activity is about 10^14 times larger than that of the Moon). Most Lunar seismic activity appears to be triggered by tidal forces induced in the Moon by the Earth.

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**Author:** ![moriah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b2d939/32.png) [@moriah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/moriah)\
**Post date:** [February 9, 2004, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-moon-still-geologically-active/228149/7 "2004-02-09T02:03:54Z")

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Just like Rocky’s hanging slabs of frozen sides of beef can be considered biologically active.