The Secrets of Schröteri Crater

Just for fun, here is an image with several more "rolling boulders" on the moon.



See full sized image here: lroc.sese.asu.edu...

I think it's boulders.If you look along the track there are several boulders which the rolling big one must have hit, unless they detached themselves from it as it rolled. Notice how those divergent indentations change just after every boulder along the trail :- as each fragment became detached so the shape of the indentation the rolling big one left changed.

Its a rock that rolled down the mountain side then split at the end. Look at the trail it left, there are marks every few meters which suggest an uneven rock rolling with a particularly bumpy bit that impacts every rotation. There are other whole similar rocks where the trail originated from.

reply to post by Aggie Man


Robinson crater is a great one for boulder trails.

Image M114259768R is a good place to start with for that area.

Just a thought... couldnt it be that the "object" is just a group of boulders and the track or tracks is/are the ones left by one or more boulders rolling away (down) from it? Rather than the tracks being that left by the "object" itself?

reply to post by SambhavaamiYugeYuge


Well there are only two possibilities:

Rocks or something else.

Originally posted by Exuberant1
Also, Here is my size guesstimation:

If that scale is accurate it pretty much rules out the 'rolling rock' theory. No rock that big wanders on it's own, whether on earth or the moon.

It would also rule out an old lunar rover or probe.

Originally posted by FOXMULDER147
If that scale is accurate it pretty much rules out the 'rolling rock' theory. No rock that big wanders on it's own, whether on earth or the moon.

Is it not possible that space debris/meteor struck it; thus, transferring it's kinetic energy into the boulder and cause the boulder to tumble?

Originally posted by Aggie Man
Is it not possible that space debris/meteor struck it; thus, transferring it's kinetic energy into the boulder and cause the boulder to tumble?

Yep. Or it could just be a meteorite that has hit, broken up, and rolled in serveral directions. Bear in mind tracks in the moon dust are going to stay there forever. Those tracks could be a billion years old, or older.

reply to post by Aggie Man


There is also moonquakes.

Those get the boulders rolling.

Originally posted by Exuberant1
reply to post by Aggie Man

 

There is also moonquakes.

Those get the boulders rolling.

Yeah, I mentioned that in my post on the top of page 2. Of course I mentioned meteors as a possible culprit in that same post. Both possibilities were certainly worth mentioning again, as it goes to show that there are forces at work that can make boulders move across the lunar surface.

Originally posted by FOXMULDER147

Originally posted by Aggie Man
Is it not possible that space debris/meteor struck it; thus, transferring it's kinetic energy into the boulder and cause the boulder to tumble?

Yep. Or it could just be a meteorite that has hit, broken up, and rolled in serveral directions. Bear in mind tracks in the moon dust are going to stay there forever. Those tracks could be a billion years old, or older.

Yes, I thought of that possibility as well. I didn't mention it because I figured folks would say "if it is a meteor, then where is the crater"

Originally posted by Aggie Man
Yes, I thought of that possibility as well. I didn't mention it because I figured folks would say "if it is a meteor, then where is the crater"

Theoretically, the crater could be hundreds of miles away and not on the photograph. You know how when you drop a glass, then clear it up, only to find a little tiny shard of broken glass, weeks later, all the way on the other side of the room...

However, as the track seems to emanate from the top of a hill, it's likely this is just a rock that got dislodged and rolled down (possibly from a meteorite impact, as you suggested)

reply to post by AmatuerSkyWatcher


Thanks for that. They do look a bit different, but same overall concept. Can't wait to hear your theory!

Originally posted by JibbyJedi
I didn't know rocks could look like giant lug nuts and sheet metal, if this was an image taken on Earth by a satellite, I would call it a processing factory or something similar.

Yeah your right on earth that would be a processing factory or something similar but on the moon its a bunch of rocks.

No proof or evidence other than one photo thats not doctored by NASA is simply not enough.

This is a strip picture from one of the Russian rovers, (lunokhod 1) after leaving the lander, It may be of help from the track patterns. Some of the rovers last positions are known from last year,

www.planetology.ru...

It looks like those rovers did a reverse/slide manoeurve to make a turn or maybe just to keep straight.

Originally posted by FlyInTheOintment

It might be boulder, but it looks gun shaped and smoking at first glance.

Sheer genius my neon blue brain-shaped friend...

Could I have found my new ATS post signature? I think so... I'm going to assume you won't mind, Pimander...

You're most welcome, my winking friend...

If you mean the smoking gun, then I'd say an excellent choice

Here is an updated image depicting some possibilities as to what this might be:

reply to post by Exuberant1


Well, here's my interpretation of the 'something else' I agree that it is:



I began by just following the lines and shadows, then threw in some conjecture regarding how I would design a buggy suitable for the moon...

A completely jointed spider-like frame with a forward capsule and rear mounted ballast/ boosters etc.

It's apparently 25m x 15m. What rover or probe do you know of that size?