Veins
Veins (or Vessels) are very unique formations on the moon's surface. They look very much like the veins in the skin of a human body. What they really are is (perhaps) still a mystery. Are they some sort of hollow tubes or tunnels? Or just some sort of very thin ridges?
The best source to look for lunar Veins is the "Big Shadows" presentation in the LROC site's WAC Mosaic of the entire moon's surface.
Examples of lunar veins or vessels
Near Herigonius Nu
- October 24th, 2017. I discovered something which looks like an "upside-down" rille, or very thin ridge, at 11°30' South / 34°05' West (west of the arc-shaped hill Herigonius Nu) (see the Big-Shadows WAC close-up in the LROC QuickMap: http://bit.ly/2zlb9Wi ).
Near Dorsa Argand, east of Montes Harbinger
- November 6th, 2017. I discovered another "upside-down" rille, or very thin ridge, near Dorsa Argand: http://bit.ly/2zmQH6G
South of Harold Hill's Euler Group
- November 7th, another discovery: the vein south of what was once called The Euler Group by Harold Hill and the Lothrop Hills on the Rand McNally moonmap: http://bit.ly/2zuK8iv
East of Aryabhata, just north of the hill which seems to have been called Maskelyne Iota
- Discovered on Sunday the 19th of November 2017. http://bit.ly/2hDV1Va
Close-up, high-rez view can be gleaned here (about quarter of the way down on right side of NAC). - JohnMoore2
Thanks John! - DannyCaes Nov 19, 2017
So... what are these formations? Super-thin Dorsa? Hollow tunnels? Were they already discovered? Are they mentioned somewhere in another source? (many questions). - DannyCaes Nov 19, 2017
Northwest of Le Monnier
- Perhaps this could be a mix of both a common sinuous rille and a vein: http://bit.ly/2hEsz5w
Near Le Monnier KA (a small craterlet in Mare Serenitatis, northwest of Le Monnier itself) is a curious feature which looks like a snake. There's a photograph of it in the AOTM's Chapter 6: Rimae (Part 1: Sinuous Rimae), Figure 190. The system which is composed of Le Monnier KA, the "snake", and some craterlets in the neighbourhood, looks very much like a "smiley"!
Halfway between Parry C and Turner M
- http://bit.ly/2hOdHkO
South of Euclides C
- http://bit.ly/2hVQHAF
North-northeast of Maskelyne G and the northern part of NASA's Diamondback Rille
- http://bit.ly/2m3nEg9
East of Lamont
- http://bit.ly/2m2Yz4L
Is it possible to observe these veins through powerful telescopes, only during local post-sunrise or pre-sunset conditions?
All discoveries from:
- DannyCaes Nov 7, 2017, except the one northwest of Le Monnier, because this one was discovered during NASA's Apollo program (see NASA SP-362: APOLLO OVER THE MOON; a View from Orbit).
