The tidal loss of satellite-orbiting objects and its implications for the lunar surface

Abstract

Tidal interactions, by altering spin and orbital parameters, can lead to the destruction of bodies in the solar system. Specifically, tidal interactions can rapidly decay the orbit of an object which revolves around a satellite. Hence, almost any object which once orbited a satellite would have impacted the satellite early in the history of the solar system. This may explain the absence of such objects today. The tidal loss of lunar-orbiting objects offers a solution to the problem of how objects may have been “stored” for ≈0.5 eons prior to impacting the Moon. The craters produced by the impacts of lunar-orbiting objects should have characteristic sizes, shapes, and ages. The Crisium and Serenitatis basins exhibit these characteristics, and, therefore, could have been produced by the impact of a lunar orbiting object. Finally, the possibility that the Imbrium and Crisium basins originated from one object, which fragmented prior to impact, is discussed.