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Ananda 1977
Ananda, M.P. (1977). Lunar gravity: A mass point model. Journal of Geophysical Research 82: doi: 10.1029/JB082i020p03049. issn: 0148-0227.

A point mass representation of a quasi-global gravity field of the moon is developed by processing Apollo 15 and 16 subsatellite and Lunar Orbiter 5 Doppler tracking data. The model is generated by reducing the long periodic variations in the mean orbit element rates. The gravity model consists of 117 point masses distributed over the region of ¿30¿ in latitude about the lunar equator. This model resolves all the previously known 'mascons' in the nearside as broad positive gravity regions. The nearside acceleration map evaluated at 100 km above the lunar surface shows good agreement with the line of sight acceleration results. The lunar farside gravity map shows strong broad positive gravity regions for the highland areas. However, all the major ringed basins are resolved as localized negative anomalies in contrast with the nearside basins. This model does not indicate any evidence for the existence of any mascon type feature in the lunar farside. When radial acceleration values are compared with the topographic values obtained from laser altimeter data, there exists a relatively good agreement between the topography and gravity profiles, indicating that the gravity highs and lows correspond to topographic highs and lows for the lunar farside. Also, the 117 masses have been mapped to a twentieth-degree and twentieth-order harmonic coefficient field, and the low-order coefficients show reasonable agreement with other known fields.

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Abstract

Journal
Journal of Geophysical Research
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American Geophysical Union
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