Moon Bloodgood
Posted on 12/20/2007 1:37:02 PM PST by blam
Moon is younger and more Earth-like than thought
20:13 19 December 2007
NewScientist.com news service
Maggie McKee
It's a good thing the Moon doesn't have any feelings to hurt. New research suggests it is actually 30 million years younger than anyone had thought, and that it is merely a 'chip off the old block' of Earth rather than being made up of the remnants of a Mars-sized body that slammed into Earth billions of years ago.
That violent impact was thought to have taken place 30 million years after the solar system began to condense from a disc of gas and dust 4.567 billion years ago. The event was thought to have melted the Earth, generating a magma ocean that covered the planet and allowed iron and other metals to sink to its centre, forming a core.
At the same time, the Moon was thought to have coalesced from a disc of molten debris blasted off the Earth and the Mars-sized interloper.
But new research led by Mathieu Touboul of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich suggests that picture is not so simple. The researchers base their analysis on studies of an isotope of the metal tungsten in lunar rocks.
That isotope, tungsten-182, is produced by the decay of two other elements: hafnium-182, which has a half-life of 9 million years, and tantalum-182. Tantalum-182, however, is not an intrinsic component of the Moon – it forms when energetic charged particles from space, called cosmic rays, slam into the lunar surface.
Previous estimates of the Moon's age were based on tungsten measurements that did not subtract the effect of the decay of tantalum. "It is crucial to remove all the tungsten-182 coming from the cosmic-ray production," Touboul told New Scientist. "Otherwise, the age one
(Excerpt) Read more at space.newscientist.com ...
Good, let’s go get the oil there.
“It’s a good thing the Moon doesn’t have any feelings to hurt. New research suggests it is actually 30 million years younger than anyone had thought, and that it is merely a ‘chip off the old block’ of Earth rather than being made up of the remnants of a Mars-sized body that slammed into Earth billions of years ago.”
Speaking of Mars, the red planet is the brightest it will be for quite some time in the night sky. Looks like a bright star with a yellowy-orange tint to it. Cool stuff.
Lunar Warming?
It is bright. I’ve been noticing it every morning.
Looks more burnt-orange to me but, I live in Texas. HOOKUM
Suddenly I am craving an RC cola about now...
That's because you've mistaken a Bud bottle for a telescope; time to cut back a little ;o)
Really? You can see something other than cloud cover looking up?
Speaking of which, NASA says this Christmas eve
the 98% full moon looks huge and clear in the azure sky. It just might be the brightest moon you've ever seen. That's because it's the highest-riding full moon until the year 2023.
(http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2007/20dec_christmaseve.htm?list1063884)
Moon is younger and more Earth-like than thought
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now keep thinking
I can see the headline now, “Atlantis found!”.
What a retarded statement.
Interesting. How young and earth-like is thought?
There’s a BIG difference between AMBER and BURNT-ORANGE
How did you know I drank Bud? (but,not at 4:45 AM)<:)>
God to His angels: "Watch this. 8-ball into the side pocket!"
I thought the earth was only 6000 years old? </s>
I love science. Want to see more of it on FR.
Wonder why that is? I thought the moon was a piece of the earth to begin with.
Moon Bloodgood
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