moonquake

American  

[moon-kweyk] / ˈmunˌkweɪk /

noun

1. a seismic vibration of the moon's surface.

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moonquake British  

/ ˈmuːnˌkweɪk /

noun

1. a light tremor of the moon, detected on the moon's surface

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Etymology

Origin of moonquake

First recorded in 1935–40; moon + (earth)quake

Example Sentences

"But if you have a habitat or crewed mission up on the moon for a whole decade, that's 3,650 days times 1 in 20 million, or the risk of a hazardous moonquake becoming about 1 in 5,500. It's similar to going from the extremely low odds of winning a lottery to much higher odds of being dealt a four of a kind poker hand."

From Science Daily

Onodera inspected each one to confirm it had the expected seismic shape of a moonquake.

From Science Magazine

Some of the first seismic waves detected after a moonquake are scattered by this layer, and the scatter obscures later-arriving waves that could provide more information about the depths of the Moon.

From Science Daily

"It could be some space debris - such as a meteorite or an asteroid - hitting the surface. Or it could be seismic which would make it the first Moonquake recorded since the 1970s. In that case, this could lead to an explanation of what's under the Moon's surface and its geography."

From BBC

But a new look at thermal earthquake data recorded by instruments from the Apollo 17 mission has unveiled a fifth and unexpected type of moonquake—one that emanates from the Apollo 17 lunar lander base itself.

From Scientific American