A Colorful Look at the Birt E Crater on the Moon

A CLOSER LOOK

This false color image of Birt E crater shows the topography of the moon and it is thought to be the source region for lava that carved out Rima Birt, a rille in Mare Nubium. This mare is older than 3.4 billion years, and so is this vent! LROC NAC M1144849711L/R with the a color DTM overlaid; North is up. Download high res: lroc.sese.asu.edu/posts/794 Credit: NASA/GSFC/Arizona State University More info: Birt E crater was not created like most craters on the Moon; there was no meteorite impact. Lava sputtered out of this pyroclastic vent in Mare Nubium over 3.4 billion years ago, dispersing lava onto the surface and leaving the crater we see today. How can we tell it is a volcanic vent and not an impact crater? Impact craters and volcanic vents can be differentiated because vents often hav

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