Researchers from the Planetary Institute in Arizona are edging closer to explaining the origin of the lunar “vortices” — spiral bright patches that shine unusually on the Moon’s surface. The latest findings appear in the Planetary Science Journal (PSJ).
These eddies show up not only on volcanic plains known as lunar seas but also along hilly regions, suggesting a broader pattern that ties the bright, spiraling features to the Moon’s terrain.
For years, lunar vortices have puzzled scientists because no single theory neatly explains their formation. There are several competing hypotheses, each backed by certain observations and contradicted by others, which keeps the debate alive among lunar researchers.
Past assumptions held that the topography of the Moon did not influence where or how these vortices appeared. In other words, the landscape was thought to have little to no bearing on the placement or shape of the bright spirals.
New evidence challenges that view. The researchers report that the Moon’s surface height appears to influence vortex formation. In the Sea of Dreams, a bright vortex feature on the Moon’s far side sits in an area lower than adjacent dark plains that pass through the same region, indicating a link between elevation and luminosity in these structures.
Similar results emerge when looking at Rainer Gamma, a well-known vortex stretching roughly 70 kilometers across the Ocean of Storms on the Moon’s near side. Analysis shows that the highly reflective stripes within Sea of Dreams lie about three meters below nearby terrain, while in Rainer Gamma the offset reaches around four meters. This repeating pattern across two very different lunar neighborhoods points to a non-random relationship between local topography and the appearance of vortices.
Such a correlation across distinct sites strengthens the case for a topographic component in vortex genesis. The work opens new avenues to understand the factors that shape these bright, spiraling features and how they interact with the Moon’s geological history. By tying morphology to elevation, scientists gain a more nuanced framework for interpreting surface brightness anomalies and their underlying causes.
The broader significance lies in refining lunar surface models. If height differences influence lighting and apparent structure, researchers can improve remote sensing analyses, calibrate albedo measurements, and better predict where similar features might occur under varying lighting angles. This, in turn, enhances the interpretation of high-resolution lunar maps and supports future mission planning, remote sensing campaigns, and comparative planetology studies that include slides of light and shadow as clues to subsurface properties.
In addition to these spatial correlations, the study contributes to the ongoing discourse about how energy, texture, and mineralogy interact on airless bodies. The bright edges of vortices may reflect different compositions or microtopographic variations that steer the way light travels across the surface. Deciphering these interactions helps scientists assemble a more complete picture of lunar geology and surface processes that sculpt the Moon over billions of years.
As this line of inquiry advances, researchers remain cautious yet optimistic about what the findings imply for future exploration. The results invite replication across other recognized vortices and focal areas, encouraging a broader examination of how topography and illumination shape the delicate, shimmering patterns observed on our celestial neighbor. The emerging consensus suggests that the Moon’s physical landscape does play a meaningful role in vortex formation, even as other factors continue to be explored.
Meanwhile, outside the lunar context, there are ongoing efforts to translate soil science breakthroughs into practical plans for using regolith in agriculture. This line of thought reflects a wider interest in leveraging planetary resources, whether for science or future human activity, as researchers explore how to make extraterrestrial environments more accessible and productive.