: any of the high-density regions below the surface of lunar maria that are held to perturb the motion of spacecraft in lunar orbit
Examples of mascon in a Sentence
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Other large craters have what are known as mascons, short for mass concentrations.
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National Geographic, 11 June 2019
Discovered in 1968 by scientists at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, mascons show up in gravity maps as bullseyes—a central circle of strong gravity surrounded by a ring of weak gravity and then another ring of stronger gravity.
—National Geographic, 11 June 2019
Plus, the moon’s lopsided topography – riddled with mascons, or areas of dense material with higher-than-average gravitational pull – makes satellites’ orbits incredibly unpredictable.
—The Washington Post, The Denver Post, 14 Mar. 2017
The lunar crust formed around those craters, leaving mass concentrations (mascons) of gravity behind in some areas.
—Erin Blakemore, Smithsonian, 14 Mar. 2017
Plus, the moon’s lopsided topography — riddled with mascons, or areas of dense material with higher-than-average gravitational pull — makes satellites’ orbits incredibly unpredictable.
—The Washington Post, The Mercury News, 13 Mar. 2017
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National Geographic, 11 June 2019
Discovered in 1968 by scientists at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, mascons show up in gravity maps as bullseyes—a central circle of strong gravity surrounded by a ring of weak gravity and then another ring of stronger gravity.
—National Geographic, 11 June 2019
Plus, the moon’s lopsided topography – riddled with mascons, or areas of dense material with higher-than-average gravitational pull – makes satellites’ orbits incredibly unpredictable.
—The Washington Post, The Denver Post, 14 Mar. 2017
The lunar crust formed around those craters, leaving mass concentrations (mascons) of gravity behind in some areas.
—Erin Blakemore, Smithsonian, 14 Mar. 2017
Plus, the moon’s lopsided topography — riddled with mascons, or areas of dense material with higher-than-average gravitational pull — makes satellites’ orbits incredibly unpredictable.
—The Washington Post, The Mercury News, 13 Mar. 2017
Cite this Entry
“Mascon.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mascon. Accessed 5 Jul. 2025.
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