Abstract
The second zonal and the second sectorial Stokes parameters of the Moon's gravitational field and/or the polar and equatorial flattenings of the lunar triaxial level ellipsoid have been explained by the tidal and rotational distortions due to the Earth. The Epoch at which the Moon's figure formation was finished has been estimated as 1.6 × 109 y B. P. when the Earth-Moon distance was about 168 400 km and the orbital/rotational period of the Moon about 8 days.
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Burša, M. Distortions of the Moon's figure due to the Earth. Earth Moon Planet 64, 265–271 (1994). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00572152
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00572152