Abstract

This study identifies 140 distal impact melt features with definitive flow morphology and determines them to originate from Tycho crater. The furthest of these impact melt deposits are located ∼450 km from Tycho (approximately ten crater radii). The impact melt deposits that we report in this study exhibit definitive melt flow features such as surface cracks, ridges, and block-rich margins. We typically found melt features with these morphologies on steep, Tycho-facing slopes. However, this population does not represent the full extent of distal melt that is likely to have been produced in the Tycho impact. Pond and veneer morphologies on nearby shallow slopes often suggest the presence of additional melt without either elevated Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Diviner instrument Rock Abundance fractions or distinctive melt flow morphologies in high-resolution imagery. We propose that topography is a controlling factor for the development of definitive melt flow morphologies in distal impact melts. The melt features that we identified in this work highlight the capacity for a single, large cratering event to resurface terrains at great distances from the crater. Modeling the production and distribution of distal impact melts, therefore, is an important next step in understanding the role that they play in the resurfacing history of airless bodies like the Moon.

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