All articles tagged with #lunar geology
NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter images reveal ancient cracks called grabens on the Moon, indicating the lunar crust was pulled apart billions of years ago, with ongoing minor extension suggesting the Moon is still slowly changing due to cooling and tectonic stresses.
Scientists have discovered a deep-seated heat source beneath the Moon's surface in the Compton-Belkovich region, linked to ancient volcanic activity and radiogenic granite, indicating the Moon's interior remains geothermally active long after its volcanic period.
Scientists have identified and dated 245 recent boulder falls on the moon, revealing ongoing geological activity and challenging the belief that the moon is geologically dead. They used high-resolution images and impact ejecta analysis to determine the age of these events, which are linked to seismic faults and impact sites, providing new insights into lunar surface dynamics.
A 2.35 billion-year-old lunar meteorite discovered in Africa in 2023 fills a nearly billion-year gap in the Moon's volcanic history, indicating prolonged volcanic activity and internal heat processes. This meteorite's unique geochemical features suggest it originated from deep within the Moon, providing new insights into lunar evolution beyond previous mission samples.
Apollo astronauts discovered tiny orange glass beads on the Moon, formed from ancient volcanic eruptions over 3 billion years ago. Modern technology has allowed scientists to analyze these pristine beads, revealing insights into the Moon's volcanic history and interior evolution, showing that the Moon was once geologically active.
Tiny orange glass beads scattered across the Moon's surface are ancient volcanic remnants formed billions of years ago, providing valuable insights into the Moon's volcanic history and interior evolution through advanced microscopic analysis.,
Scientists have studied tiny glass beads on the moon, formed during volcanic eruptions billions of years ago, revealing insights into the moon's volcanic history and interior composition using advanced microscopic techniques.
China's Chang'e 6 mission has returned the first samples from the moon's far side, revealing volcanic activity 2.8 billion years ago. The analysis of these basalt samples shows a lack of potassium, rare Earth elements, and phosphorus, possibly due to the South Pole-Aitken basin impact. This elemental imbalance may explain why the far side has fewer mare basalts compared to the near side. The findings provide new insights into the moon's geological history and the differences between its two sides.
Researchers from the US and China have discovered evidence of ancient volcanic activity on the Moon's far side, with basalt fragments dating back over 4.2 billion years. The samples, collected by China's Chang’e-6 mission, revealed a surprisingly young eruption from 2.83 billion years ago. This study, published in Nature and Science, marks the first geochronology analysis of samples from the Moon's far side, offering new insights into its unexplored geology.
New research published in Nature Geoscience has uncovered a crucial process in the creation of unique lunar rocks, shedding light on their signature composition and presence on the Moon's surface. The study, led by scientists from the Universities of Bristol and Münster, used high-temperature experiments and isotopic analyses to identify a key reaction that occurred in the deep lunar interior billions of years ago, explaining the formation of high-Ti basalts. This discovery resolves a long-standing puzzle in lunar geology and provides insight into the intriguing history of volcanic lunar rocks.
Scientists have announced that the moon has entered a new geological period, marking a significant milestone in lunar geology and space exploration. This new period, known as the "Era of Cold Traps," is characterized by the accumulation of water ice in the moon's permanently shadowed regions, providing valuable insights into the moon's history and potential resources for future human missions.
A recent study utilizing data from the Chinese Chang'E 1 and 2 orbiters has revealed a radioactive hot spot on the far side of the Moon known as the Compton-Belkovich Thorium Anomaly. This hidden feature, believed to be a dormant lunar volcano, contains a unique type of material not found outside of Earth. The study utilized microwave wavelengths to measure the temperature beneath the Moon's surface and found that the hot spot is still generating heat despite being inactive for billions of years. This discovery suggests that the Moon's internal heat persists due to the presence of radioactive elements within batholith structures.