Impacts Today

Abstract

Lunar Transient Phenomenon (LTP) is defined as a short-lived phenomenon or change observed on the Moon and can take on a number of forms such as red glows, flashes, obscurations, and abnormal albedo and shadow effects. The study of LTP implies the study of such changes that take place on the Moon’s surface. Some forms of LTP are likely triggered by lunar tides and occur within craters and around the perimeters of basins. Many forms of lunar change seem to be localized, occurring or recurring at specific locations and within specific features on the Moon’s surface. In one localized instance, an LTP took place in the crater Alphonsus, and astronomers were able to obtain a carbon spectrum from this event. The following, adapted with the permission from the online Lunar Transient Phenomena Observing Manual by David O. Darling (one can find the website using a search engine and typing the manual’s title), is a coarse classification of the numerous forms of LTP.