A large granite block that releases heat slowly has been found buried in a crater on the Moon. This is not science fiction, this is an ancient volcano. The moon has lava fields and volcanic eruptions, but astronomers didn’t actually find any more typical Earth-like volcanoes – until they looked at what lies beneath the Compton and Belkowitz craters on the far side of the moon.
Granite is not very common outside of Earth, so finding it on the Moon is very exciting. On our planet, they form deep below the surface, usually under volcanoes where magma cools and crystallizes. To make granite, the presence of water and plate tectonics is very helpful. The team used a combination of data from China’s and US lunar orbiters to detect a heat-emitting mass beneath the surface, identifying an unprecedented volcanic process on the moon.
“Using instruments that see the wavelengths of microwaves – longer than infrared – sent to the moon on the Chinese orbiters Chang’E 1 and 2, we were able to map the temperature beneath the surface. What we found is that one of these suspected volcanoes, known as Compton-Belkowitz, only glows at microwave wavelengths, said lead researcher Matt Siegler, of the Planetary Science Institute, in statement.
That means heat, not necessarily on the surface, as you can see in infrared, but beneath the surface. The only way to explain it is from the extra heat coming from somewhere beneath the features within the moon’s deep crust. So is Compton Belkowitz, which is believed to be a volcano, which also hides a huge source of heat underneath.
Evidence of new volcanic processes has been found on the moon.
Image credit: Siegler at al, Nature July 2023
The data showed a silicon-rich surface 20 kilometers (12 miles) wide which they believed was the caldera of this ancient volcano. The temperature there is 10 degrees Celsius (18 degrees Fahrenheit) warmer than the surrounding area, but not from magma beneath the surface – the last time a volcano erupted was 3.5 billion years ago – but from radioactive elements trapped in the rock.
“We interpret this convective flow to be caused by a granite body rich in radioactive material beneath the caldera,” said Dr. Siegler. He said. “To be honest, we were a little confused when we found it: Luckily, my wife, Dr. Rita Economos, is the geochemist in the family, so with her guidance we were able to piece together possible geological causes of the thermal anomaly.”
As explained by Dr. California, is an example of similar granite boulders rising to the surface.
The presence of large granite deposits that you didn’t expect indicates that there may be other areas of the Moon where granite may be found. Maybe elsewhere in the solar system too.
The results are reported in a journal alam.
2023-07-07 16:14:36
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