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Start with the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera (LROC) Pits atlas to find documented lunar pits. Use LROC QuickMap to locate each feature, then compare images taken with different lighting and viewing angles. A pit is a visible surface opening; calling it a cave requires separate evidence that a void continues underground.

Find documented pits in the LROC atlas

The LROC Pits atlas is a practical starting point for named examples and their associated image and map resources. Treat an atlas entry as a documented pit, not proof that it opens into a confirmed cave.

NASA describes LROC QuickMap as a customizable browser-based mapping and analysis tool containing data from past and present lunar spacecraft. Use it to place an atlas feature in context—for example, whether it lies in a mare, near a rille, or in highland terrain. The interface can change, so look for the feature and available image or map information rather than relying on a fixed sequence of controls.

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Compare images, not just map symbols

Lighting and viewing geometry change what a pit reveals. A high-Sun image may show the floor and boulders; a long shadow can help show relief; an oblique image may reveal a wall overhang or a void that is hidden from a near-overhead view. NASA’s Mare Tranquillitatis pit image and its Marius Hills sublunarean-void image illustrate these different views.

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When comparing image records, note the image identifier and any stated illumination or viewing geometry. Describe only what the image directly shows: a shadow, floor, wall, boulders, overhang, or visible void. A single overhead-looking image may not expose an undercut or the continuation below the surface.

Separate a visible pit from evidence of a cave

Use terms that match the evidence. “Pit” describes the visible surface feature. “Possible skylight” suggests, but does not prove, an opening into a subsurface void. “Evidence for a cave” should be tied to a specific observation or analysis. NASA reported over 200 steep-walled lunar holes in 2014, while noting that only some might lead to caves; that count is not a count of confirmed caves (NASA’s 2014 overview).

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  • Optical imagery: Can show surface shape, shadows, walls, floors, and—in favorable oblique views—an overhang or part of a void.
  • Radar: Can provide a distinct line of evidence for a subsurface continuation, but does not by itself amount to a complete cave survey.
  • Thermal analysis: Can inform estimates of conditions in shaded locations; it does not map a cave route.

Worked example: the Mare Tranquillitatis pit

What the optical image supports

NASA’s 2010 Photojournal description says the LROC image covers a width of 400 meters. For the pit, it reports a width of 100–115 meters (328–377 feet) and estimates a depth a little over 100 meters (328 feet) from a 55-meter shadow at an incidence angle of 26.5 degrees. The estimated depth is measured from the shadow edge; measured from the surrounding mare plain, it is greater. These are image-based surface dimensions, not measurements of a cave conduit (NASA Science Photojournal).

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What radar adds

In July 2024, NASA described a re-analysis of Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Mini-RF radar data collected in 2010. The analysis found evidence of a cave extending more than 200 feet from the base of the Mare Tranquillitatis pit. That is radar evidence for an underground continuation, not a claim that the full cave has been explored or mapped (NASA Science, July 18, 2024).

Why the Marius Hills example matters

NASA’s oblique LROC image of the Marius Hills pit shows how viewing angle can change an interpretation: the angle reveals an overhang, and the camera imaged a few meters beneath it, showing a sublunarean void. The image demonstrates evidence of a void near the opening, but does not establish the cave’s full size or length (NASA Science Photojournal).

A separate LROC gallery view of the Mare Tranquillitatis pit was taken with the spacecraft turned 45 degrees. The gallery describes the floor as extending at least 25 meters beneath the surface—an observation of an overhang or undercut, not a complete cave map (LROC Lunar Pits gallery).

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Keep measurements and interpretations in context

For each candidate, record what is visible, how the image was lit and viewed, what reference surface a dimension uses, and whether any independent subsurface evidence exists. Do not merge unlike measurements: shadow geometry can support a pit-depth estimate, while radar can support an inference about an underground continuation.

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Thermal results also need narrow wording. NASA’s 2022 account of a study using Diviner data and computer modeling reports temperatures near 63°F (about 17°C) in shaded locations within the studied pits. This finding applies to those analyzed locations and methods; it does not establish a temperature for every lunar cave or demonstrate a cave’s full extent (NASA, July 26, 2022).

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