China’s lunar rover

[ABNARTY]

Space weather? I would have bought camera/processing artifact or trick of the light. But space weather? Where did they find this guy? 

The reason the Apollo astronauts suits wore out so quickly was the lunar dust. It was sharp and jagged specifically because there is no means of weathering on the moon to smooth the dust particles down. They are like little knives. The craters are visible from a zillion years ago because there is no weathering. Ever see the American flag waving in the moon breeze?

Solar winds are what they are calling space weather, it is a thing. it carries particles ejected from the sun and has a kentic engery, during solar flares it can reach super sonic speeds.


from the wiki,

The Earth's Moon has no atmosphere or intrinsic magnetic field, and consequently its surface is bombarded with the full solar wind. The Project Apollo missions deployed passive aluminum collectors in an attempt to sample the solar wind, and lunar soil returned for study confirmed that the lunar regolith is enriched in atomic nuclei deposited from the solar wind. These elements may prove useful resources for future lunar colonies.[49]

Solar Wind

and from NASA,

Solar storms and associated Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs) can significantly erode the lunar surface, according to a new set of computer simulations by NASA scientists. In addition to removing a surprisingly large amount of material from the lunar surface, this can be a major method of atmospheric loss for planets like Mars that are unprotected by a global magnetic field.

SOLAR STORMS “SANDBLAST” THE MOON

Thanks for the link. I appreciate it. Not arguing, just thinking about this. The idea of "space weathering" versus weathering we see on the Earth's surface. No clue what the object is.  

"...can significantly erode the lunar surface, according to a new set of computer simulations by NASA scientists."

OK. A simulation. Kind of hard to conduct direct experiments on the moon when no one is there. No problem. 

The plasma from CMEs impacts the lunar surface, and atoms from the surface are ejected in a process called “sputtering.”

So this works at the atomic level. It removes volatile material. Creates an exosphere. Gas. 

I have no doubt this is true as the same affect happens in Earth upper atmosphere. My contention is a "weathering" at the macro scale. The ability to wear down a big rock into a square shape. We would see that on the Earth's surface from wind and water erosion (probably end up round instead of square?). If we put the same rock in Earth's upper atmosphere or on the surface of the moon, there is no wind or water erosion. We would not see erosion of that scale. 

If a big rock (or any surface) were left on the moon's surface exposed to the CME's and normal space wind, it would affect the surface equally (I'm guessing?). A square rock would turn into a smaller square rock by losing atoms on the entire surface over millions of years. Probably lose more on the top as it is more directly exposed. But the rate of loss? 

There is plenty of mechanical weathering from impacts. It can break rocks up or weld them together from the heat of the impact. But an impact turning an object square or rectangular? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lunar_soil

I guess my argument was with the flippant comment from the guy in the OP.