Comment on “Constraints on the source of lunar cataclysm impactors” (Cuk et al., 2010, Icarus 207, 590-594) |
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| Authors: | Renu Malhotra Robert G Strom |
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| Institution: | Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, The University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721, United States |
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| Abstract: | Cuk et al. (Cuk, M., Gladman, B.J., Stewart, S.T. 2010]. Icarus 207, 590-594) argue that the projectiles bombarding the Moon at the time of the so-called lunar cataclysm could not have been mainbelt asteroids ejected by purely gravitational means, in contradiction with a conclusion that was reached by Strom et al. (Strom, R.G., Malhotra, R., Ito, T., Yoshida, F., Kring, D.A. 2005]. Science 309, 1847-1850). We demonstrate that Cuk et al.’s argument is erroneous because, contrary to their arguments, the lunar highlands do register the cataclysm impacts, lunar class 1 craters do not represent the size distribution of the cataclysm craters, and the crater size distributions on the late-forming basins are quite similar to those of the highlands craters, albeit at a lower number density due to the rapid decline of the impact flux during the cataclysm. |
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| Keywords: | Moon Surface Cratering Asteroids Terrestrial planets Planetary dynamics Planets Migration |
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