Free Astronomy Magazine November-December 2026

NOVEMBER-DECEMBER 2026 A n example of a real, unusual structure on the lunar surface is visible on the floor of Paracelsus C crater, located on the far side of the Moon. This feature, imaged by the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera (LROC), attracted attention for its striking linear and rectangular patterns, unusual in typical impact craters, as well as for its isolation and the absence of similar structures nearby. Because erosion does not occur on the Moon due to the absence of an atmosphere, the only plausible explanations for these features are some type of impact degradation or tectonic stresses that lead to contraction over time, creating ridges and faults that can appear unusually regular. Paracelsus C lies in a region shaped in the distant past by intense meteorite bombardment, so the angular features could result from impact-induced fractures, deposition of ejecta, or pools of solidified molten material. [NASA, Clément Vidal et al.] ble to metallic alloys or other com- pounds not present in nature. Dis- covering those lines in a celestial body that certainly originated out- side our Solar System (read “on a hyperbolic orbit,” e > 1) would di- rectly confirm the existence of at least one other galactic technologi- cal civilization. But if those types of anomalies were shown by the spec- trum of a body with an orbit con- strained to the Sun, it would be un- wise to draw the same conclusions. In this regard, Lazio cites a prime example: the near-Earth asteroid (NEA) 2020 SO, discovered on Sep- tember 17, six years ago, at the Haleakala Observatory in Hawaii. Its orbital motion immediately ap- peared strange: it had a particularly low velocity relative to Earth and seemed to be affected by solar ra- diation pressure more than ex- pected. Near-infrared spectroscopic observations conducted with NA- SA’s Infrared Telescope Facility re- vealed a significant presence of stainless steel and a plastic material known as polyvinyl fluoride (PVF). What appeared to be a large space boulder was soon identified as the upper stage of the Centaur booster rocket of the Surveyor 2 spacecraft,