Abstract
New radar observations of the Moon in 1981–1984 were made using the 430 MHz (70 cm wavelength) radar at the Arecibo observatory, Puerto Rico. The new observations have produced a high resolution lunar radar map with radar cell-sizes near 2–5 km. This new resolution is a three-fold improvement over the previous mapping done in the late 1960's. Since the Arecibo radar antenna beam is only ten arc-minutes (about one-third of the width of the lunar disk), this new map is a mosaic of some eighteen observations. A radarmetric control between the various pieces of the mosaic was obtained via a ‘beam-swing,’ limb-to-limb calibration.
When the limb-to-limb calibration was combined with the mosaic, there were significant radar scattering differences across the maria. Eastern Mare Tranquillitatis and western Oceanus Procellarum have weaker echoes than other maria, while the central portion of Mare Serenitatis and northern Mare Imbrium have stronger echoes. There is a radar scattering difference across the southern terra as areas nearer Mare Orientale have stronger echoes than areas further from Mare Orientale.
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Evans, J. V. and Pettengill, G. H.: 1963, The Scattering of the Moon at 3.6, 68, and 784 centimeters, J. Geophys. Res. 68, 423–447.
Hagfors, T.: 1967, A Study of the Depolarization of Lunar Radar Echoes, Radio Science 2, 445–465.
Hagfors, T., Nanni, B., and Stone, K.: 1968, Aperture Synthesis in Radar Astronomy and Same Applications to Lunar and Planetary Studies, Radio Science 3, 491–507.
Hagfors, T.: 1970, Remote Probing of the Moon by Infrared and Microwave Emissions and by Radar, Radio Science 5, 189–227.
Pettengill, G. H., Zisk, S. H., and Thompson, T. W.: 1974, The Mapping of Lunar Radar Scattering Characteristics, The Moon 10, 3–16.
Thompson, T. W.: 1965, A Study of Radar Scattering Behavior of Lunar Craters (Ph.D Thesis), Research Report RS64, Center for Radiophysics and Space Research, Cornell Univ., Ithaca, New York.
Thompson, T. W.: 1974, Atlas of Lunar Radar Maps at 70-cm Wavelength, The Moon 10, 51–85.
Thompson, T. W., Masursky, H., Shorthill, R. W., Tyler, G. L., and Zisk, S. H.: 1974, A Comparison of Infrared, Radar and Geologic Mapping of Lunar Craters, The Moon 10, 87–117.
Thompson, T. W.: 1978, High Resolution Lunar Radar Map at 7.5-Meter Wavelength, Icarus 36, 174–188.
Thompson, T. W.: 1979, A Review of Earth-Based Radar Mapping of the Moon, The Moon and Planets 20, 179–198.
Thompson, T. W., Cutts, J. A., Shorthill, R. W., and Zisk, S. H.: 1980, ‘Infrared and Radar Signatures of Lunar Craters: Implications about Crater Evolution’, in J. Papike and R. Merrill (eds.), Proc. Conf. Lunar Highlands Crust, pp. 483–499.
Zisk, S. H., Pettengill, G. H., and Catuna, G. W.: 1974, High Resolution Radar Maps of the Lunar Surface at 3.8-cm Wavelength, 1974, The Moon 10, 17–50.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Thompson, T.W. High-resolution lunar radar map at 70-cm wavelength. Earth Moon Planet 37, 59–70 (1987). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00054324
Received:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00054324