A Stochastic Model of the Formation and Survival of Lunar Craters, II

Approximate Distribution of Diameter of All Observable Craters

Allan H. Marcus

ResearchPublished 1965

It is assumed that the number density of lunar craters evolves because of the arrival of new craters and the obliteration of earlier craters by the formation of more recent ones nearby. Approximations are developed which permit the calculation of the expected number density of all observable lunar craters as a function of crater diameter and of time. This result is applied to the meteoroidal impact hypothesis for the origin of lunar craters. It is shown that obliteration alone is not sufficient to explain observed crater diameter distributions. (See also RM-4682-PR.) 46 pp. Bibliog.

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Marcus, Allan H., A Stochastic Model of the Formation and Survival of Lunar Craters, II: Approximate Distribution of Diameter of All Observable Craters. Santa Monica, CA: RAND Corporation, 1965. https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_memoranda/RM4681.html.
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