Activity in the lunar surface: Transient Lunar Phenomena

TL;DR

This paper reviews and synthesizes existing reports on Transient Lunar Phenomena (TLP), proposing a unifying theory that attributes TLP to lunar degassing, and discusses methods for observation and prediction.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive literature review and develops a theoretical framework linking TLP to lunar degassing and related phenomena.

Findings

TLP are likely caused by lunar outgassing and geological activity.

A unifying theory for TLP based on lunar degassing is proposed.

Methods for observing and predicting TLP are outlined.

Abstract

Transient Lunar Phenomena (TLP) observed on the surface of the moon, are of high rarity, low repetition rate and very short observation times, resulting in that there is little information about this topic. This necessitates the importance of studying them in detail. They have been observed as very bright clouds of gases of past geological lunar activity. According its duration, there have been registered in different colors (yellow, orange, red). Its size can vary from a few to hundreds of kilometers. The TLP Usually occur in certain locations as in some craters (Aristarchus, Plato, Kepler, etc.) and at the edges of lunar maria (Sea of Fecundity, Alps hills area, etc.). The exposure time of a TLP can vary from a few seconds to a little more than one hour. In this paper, a literature review of the TLP is made to build a theory from the existing reports and scientific hypotheses, trying to unify and synthesize data and concepts that are scattered by different lunar research lines. The TLP need to be explained from celestial mechanics and planetary astrophysics to explain the possible causes from phenomena such as outgassing moon, moonquakes and the gravitational interaction. Extrapolating these hypothetical physical knowledge, arguments are exposed for Lunar degassing theory showing this as the most consistent. It is build also a the theory of how to observe, describe, explain and predict the TLP.