Did the moon once flop over on its side? Well, here's what scientists say (al.com)

[eppur_se_muova]

By Lee Roop | [e-mail]
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on March 23, 2016 at 1:30 PM, updated March 25, 2016 at 5:13 PM

Could the moon have flopped on its side some 3.5 million years ago like a child's top? Scientists, including one from Alabama, say "yes" in a paper published today in the journal Nature. (See a video illustrating the phenomenon below.)

Dr. Richard Miller, the University of Alabama in Huntsville scientist who's part of the research, admits the theory "sounds crazy." But data led the team to the conclusion, and the model has held up to tests so far.

The story begins with scientists looking for water on the moon. They found it at the north and south poles, but one of Miller's collaborators, Dr. Matt Siegler of the Planetary Science Institute, noticed that the water at the two poles seemed to be pointing in opposite directions. It's called an antipodal distribution pattern, Miller said last week.

"This is unexpected, since if the water is 'recent' it should be distributed uniformly around the poles," Miller said.

Statistical analysis showed the pattern was "very unlikely to be due to random chance," Miller said, "which suggests there some underlying physical process."
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more: http://www.al.com/news/huntsville/index.ssf/2016/03/scientists_say_the_moon_floppe.html

abstract/paywall: http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v531/n7595/full/nature17166.html

[angstlessk]

1. I don't understand, how can a round ball flop over to one side?

When it's a half moon?

[hollysmom]

2. are you saying the man in the moon fell on his face?

[angstlessk]

3. Must be?

[saturnsring]

4. We see a feature on the moon's surface that appears to be consistent with the bubble's movement, Mil

We see a feature on the moon's surface that appears to be consistent with the bubble's movement, Miller said. Its scientific name is the Procellarum KREEP Terranae (PKT), and it's known in folklore as "the man in the moon."

[muriel_volestrangler]

5. 'on its side' seems an exaggeration, from the video

The pole wanders a bit, but it's nothing like 90 degrees (the LCROSS impact site was at about 85 degrees south, so the 'wander' is less than 10 degrees, I think). The article also confusingly talks about '3.5 million years ago', when the rest of it seems to mean billion.