CompuServe Messages

Hi, Guy, Tom, Adrian– I found my copy of "The Meteorite & Tektite Collector's Handbook", (C)1991 by Philip M. Bagnall. He mentions "studies of lunar material returned by the Apollo program does [sic] not support a lunar origin for tektites"; we will have to lock him in a room with the conductor of NASA study of Thai tektite compositions which Adrian mentioned and see who comes out in the best shape. Regarding volcanism on the moon, he mentions the "Some astronomers have witnessed discoloration of certain lunar craters – the so-called Lunar Transient Phenomenon (LTP) – which may be caused by degassing through fissures in the Moon's crust as it opens under gravitational tidal forces, but this reaction is a long way from full-blown volcanism." Actually, we do not need "full-blown volcanism" to get tektites from the moon; if this degassing is sudden and violent enough, even on a small scale, maybe it can fire off some proto-tektites at lunar escape velocity. I gather the moon is short of volatiles, so I am wondering whether a source for such gasses has been observed. –Doug