where did the craters on the moon come from
impacts
title: Lunar craters text: Lunar craters Lunar craters are impact craters on Earth's Moon. The Moon's surface has many craters, almost all of which were formed by impacts. The word "crater" was adopted from the Greek word for vessel - (Κρατήρ a Greek vessel used to mix wine and water). Galileo built his first telescope in late 1609, and turned it to the Moon for the first time on November 30, 1609. He discovered that, contrary to general opinion at that time, the Moon was not a perfect sphere, but had both mountains and cup-like depressions. These were named craters by Schroeter (1791), extending title: Craters of the Moon (geothermal site) text: an “unearthly” atmosphere. The craters are a relatively recent feature of the area and appeared as a result of human activity in the region. The site is Crown Land, administered by the Department of Conservation, with help from the "Craters of the Moon Trust", a volunteer organisation that provides information for visitors and passive vehicle security. In 1859 Ferdinand von Hochstetter, an Austrian geologist who traveled through the area, reported a colossal column of steam from the Karapiti Blowhole (fumarole), observable from about 20 km away. It was difficult to approach because steam vents and springs covered the valley floor title: Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve text: the other Lava Beds of Idaho was lifted. The few whites who visited the area in the 19th century created local legends that it looked like the surface of the Moon. Geologist Harold T. Stearns coined the name "Craters of the Moon" in 1923 while trying to convince the National Park Service to recommend protection of the area in a national monument. Robert Limbert, a sometime taxidermist, tanner, and furrier from Boise, explored the area, which he described as "practically unknown and unexplored ..." in the 1920s after hearing stories from fur trappers about "strange things they had seen while title: Lunar craters text: its previous use with volcanoes. Scientific opinion as to the origin of craters swung back and forth over the ensuing centuries. The competing theories were (a) volcanic eruptions blasting holes in the Moon, (b) meteoric impact, (c) a theory known as the Welteislehre developed in Germany between the two World Wars which suggested glacial action creating the craters. Grove Karl Gilbert suggested in 1893 that the Moon's craters were formed by large asteroid impacts. Ralph Baldwin in 1949 wrote that the Moon's craters were mostly of impact origin. Around 1960, Gene Shoemaker revived the idea. According to David H. Levy, title: Lunar craters text: Gene "saw the craters on the Moon as logical impact sites that were formed not gradually, in eons, but explosively, in seconds." Evidence collected during the Apollo Project and from unmanned spacecraft of the same period proved conclusively that meteoric impact, or impact by asteroids for larger craters, was the origin of almost all lunar craters, and by implication, most craters on other bodies as well. The formation of new craters is studied in the lunar impact monitoring program at NASA. The biggest recorded creation was caused by an impact recorded on March 17, 2013. Visible to the naked eye,