Abstract
Two ellipsoidal spherules approximately 0.5 mm in diameter were studied in detail using a scanning electron microscope. A variety of surface features were observed: vesicles, mounds, dimples, streaks, ridges, grooves, accretion phenomena, and high-speed impact craters. The diameters of 27 glass-lined pits formed by impact on one spherule range from less than 1μm to approximately 50μm. Intermediate-sized glass-lined pits surrounded by concentric fractures demonstrate the transition between larger craters that have both a pit and a spall zone and generally smaller craters that have only a pit. Assuming all craters showing evidence of impact-related melting or flow are the result of primary impacts, the differential mass spectrum of impacting meteoroids in the range 10−11 to 10−10 g is in good agreement with a spectrum based on satellite-borne particle-detecting experiments.
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Hartung, J.B., Hörz, F., McKay, D.S. et al. Surface features on glass spherules from the Luna 16 sample. The Moon 5, 436–446 (1972). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00563093
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00563093