By Alice Truong
Discovery News
The moon we see today isn’t the moon that was born 4.5 billion years ago. NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center traces its evolution in a fascinating new video that shows the various events that have shaped the moon we’ve come to know.
Over this course of time, our moon has taken quite a beating, under assault by meteors, volcanism and small asteroids — all of which have made a literal dent in the rock’s face. The first bombardment occurred at the South Pole, forming the Aitken basin about 4.3 billion years ago, and the most recent intermediate cratering happened as recent as a billion years ago.
Image: NASA screenshot
Image: NASA screenshot
Image: NASA screenshot
Image: NASA screenshot
Image: NASA screenshot
Image: NASA screenshot