Very interesting lunar anomaly from LROC has me stumped - any ideas or explanations ?

Hi all,

I've just downloaded the latest hires lunar image from LROC - this beast is a whopping 500+ Mb in size !

The bad news is that there's no sign whatsoever of alien incursion, moon bases, artificial structures or anything else even remotely like that ... not that I was expecting to see any

However, it only took me a few mins of looking to come up with something that has me really amazed and definitely perplexed. I'm 100% certain it's natural in origin but I'm struggling to come up with any kind of explanation as to how it was created. All normal explanations just don't seem to fit. So I'm throwing it open to you guys and will be extremely interested in your individual takes.

Here's the image in question:

[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/410fc9384458.jpg[/atsimg]

As far as I can see, we have a fairly extensive and collapsed lava tube. Nothing unusual about that as it's a common occurrence on the moon.
But what is extraordinary is what appears to be at least 12 meteorite impacts (craters) positioned EXACTLY WITHIN the walls of the collapsed tube ... and running the length of the tube.

Now, we're not talking about close calls or near misses here. Even a quick look shows that all 12 meteorites hit with bullseye accuracy and dead center within the "valley" formed by the collapsed lava tube. That's what I call precision bombardment.
In fact, the 12 meteorites even managed to match the curve of the lava tube exactly !

Ok ... so how was this accomplished ?

I watch a video that talks about this exact formation but on mars.

www.thunderbolts.info...

well... gonna go for a slam dunk and say that they aren't impacts. don't know what they are, but i can say that is what they aren't.

Originally posted by thegiftbearer
well... gonna go for a slam dunk and say that they aren't impacts. don't know what they are, but i can say that is what they aren't.

Quite possibly.

My 2nd guess was perhaps bubbles of gas formed when the lava tubes were created, then popping and forming crater like effects.

But they seem almost identical to other craters close by.

Nice one

Was going through the picture yesterday.
Can't figure that one out, thought of cave colapsing, but i think that would look different.

Are you just baiting the plasma cosmologists?

there's a theory that electric arcing could cause such linear cratering
www.thunderbolts.info...

There are tons of craters "in a line" just in that pic, just think how many lines of craters are on the moon, the moon is 1/4 the size of our planet whats the bet that at least 1 lava tube formed along 1 of these lines of craters?

Originally posted by roughycannon
There are tons of craters "in a line" just in that pic, just think how many lines of craters are on the moon, the moon is 1/4 the size of our planet whats the bet that at least 1 lava tube formed along 1 of these lines of craters?

So, according to your explanation, what mechanism "forces" a new lava tube to follow a sequence of existing craters ?

And as far as I've been able to determine, this is the only example of this phenomena that I've been able to find. If what you say is so, then there should be many, many such examples ... but there isn't.

Those "craters" in the trough do not seem to have typical rimmed edges as impact craters. So we can figure they are sink holes are connected to the area's conditions where the surrounding surface was lowered rather than blasted.

reply to post by tauristercus
They're collapse pits.

Collapse pits on Mars are formed in serveral ways. In volcanic areas, channelized lava flows can form roofs which insulate the flowing lava. These features are termed lava tubes on Earth and are common features in basaltic flows.After the lava has drained, parts of the roof of the tube will collapse under its own weight. These collapse pits will only be as deep as the bottom of the original lava tube....and so forth

More from NASA on collapse pits.

This kind of anomalies are really intriguing...
There is something similar in "Fra Mauro" Crater. www.abovetopsecret.com...

An ancient strife? Bombing on the moon?

This is only my bizarre theory.

Perhaps they are not impact craters, but rather some sort of volcanic crater.

Some low-profile volcanic craters can look like impact craters. There was a time just several decades ago that leading geologist thought that that "Barringer Crater" in Arizona (also known today as "Meteor Crater)" was perhaps a volcanic crater, although today we know it isn't.

When I look at the ones in the OP, I don't see a raised rim like some of the other craters in the area have -- i.e., they look like sinkholes. That, plus the fact that they are located right along a rille makes it seem to me these are NOT impact-related.

EDIT TO ADD:
I now see that Kandinsky already posted a similar reply -- but he was good enough to add links.

reply to post by tauristercus


I was trying to figure out where I have seen that pattern before, and saw someone said Mars. That made me think of this:

[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/1ab724dd3818.jpg[/atsimg]


Recent HD imaging of Phobos (not this photo but you get the idea) highlights the exact same anomoly. A straight line with impact marks in that line.

Its entirely possible its an impact and it bounced across the surface.. Its apprently common though since we see signs of it in our solar system.