Moon Craters

If craters on the Moon are solely due to impact, as many believe, then we should expect craters to be randomly distributed. Some shielding from Earth would be expected, but for the rest, the craters should appear with no clear pattern.

However, this is not the case. Small craters are predominantly located on peeks and ridges. It is quite common to see them on the edge of older, bigger craters, or lined up neatly along a ridge.

Electrical cratering on exposed edges

Larger craters are uniformly spread out. Viewed from the north pole or south pole, a spiralling pattern of large craters can be seen.

All of this indicate some sort of continuous process in which craters are excavated slowly over time.

The prime suspect in this case would be ion winds. Charged particles move along the surface of our Moon until they find a suitable escape point, usually on a ridge or other high point. They spiral around the escape point a few times before leaving the surface.

Over time, craters appear, evenly spaced out, themselves forming a spiralling pattern.

Lunar north pole

By NASA/GSFC/Arizona State University - http://wms.lroc.asu.edu/lroc_browse/view/npole (see also http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA14024), Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=31697472

The craters on the Moon are not proof of a violent past, but mostly the result of dust and other particles fluttering along its surface.

Impact craters are relatively rare in comparison to electrically excavated craters.