Moon-Like Madagascar

Picture of the Day for October 5, 2026

A brilliant lens of anorthosite, a rock type widespread on the lunar surface area, is nestled within sheared rocks in the nation’s south.

Oct 05, 2026

From an astronaut’s point of view recalling at Earth, a spot of brilliant rock in dry southern Madagascar might appear out of location. It would not on the Moon. The igneous rock anorthosite, typical on the Moon’s surface area, shows up from Earth with the unaided eye as the light-colored, extremely reflective locations called the lunar highlandsAnorthosite likewise emerge throughout Earth’s surface area, from eastern Canada and Scandinavia to southern India and Madagascar, where it forms a striking round function.

An astronaut aboard the International Space Station recorded this picture of the Saririaky anorthosite massif on August 28, 2026. Anorthosite is an invasive igneous rock– formed from lava that cools below the surface area– comprised of big mineral crystals. Researchers believe the massif seen here formed in the late Precambrian, a minimum of 600 million years earlier. Its contemporary outcrop covers about 100 square kilometers (40 square miles).

The rocks surrounding the anorthosite expose a vibrant chapter in the location’s geologic past. Scientists have actually identified that the Saririaky massif lies within a ductile shear zonewhere high pressures and temperature levels metamorphosed and improved the rock, imparting north-south-trending direct patterns.

Geologists believe this contortion happened when pieces of what are now Africa, India, Madagascar, Australia, and Antarctica were clashing to form the supercontinent GondwanaSome researchers have actually presumed that another anorthosite massif in the shear zone, situated about 60 kilometers (40 miles) to the north, was pulled apart from the Saririaky massif at the same time, producing a massive boudinage structure.

Anorthosites in the world have actually shown helpful for researchers studying the Moon’s past. Lunar anorthosites are more than 4 billion years of ages, having actually taken shape from the Moon’s lava ocean to form its external crust. Scientists have actually evaluated samples reminded Earth by Apollo astronauts, however since that product is restricted, they likewise want to comparable terrestrial rocks. The anorthosites in the Beartooth Mountains of Montana match the structure of the lunar variation especially well.

Astronaut photo ISS075-E-85249 was gotten on August 28, 2026, with a Nikon Z9 digital cam utilizing a focal length of 400 millimeters. It is offered by the ISS Crew Earth Observations Facility and the Earth Science and Remote Sensing Unit at NASA Johnson Space. The image was taken by a member of theExploration 75 teamThe image has actually been cropped and boosted to enhance contrast, and lens artifacts have actually been gotten rid of. TheInternational Space Station Programsupports the lab as part of theISS National Labto assist astronauts take photos of Earth that will be of the best worth to researchers and the general public, and to make those images easily offered on the web. Extra images taken by astronauts and cosmonauts can be seen at the NASA/JSCEntrance to Astronaut Photography of EarthStory by Lindsey Doermann.

• Ashwal, L.D., et al.[19459073](1998)Geology, petrology and isotope geochemistry of massif-type anorthosites from southwest Madagascar Contributions to Mineralogy and Petrology 133, 389-401.
• Earth & & Solar System (2017, July 27) Impact Shock State of the Lunar HighlandsAccessed October 2, 2026.
• Martelat, J., et al.[19459073](2000)Strain pattern and late Precambrian contortion history in southern Madagascar Precambrian Research102, 1– 2.
• NASA Earth Observatory (2020, May 4) Montana’s Moon-Like Rocks. Accessed October 2, 2026.

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