Jakarta –
For nearly five centuries researchers have put forward many contentious theories about the origin of the Moon https://www.detik.com/tag/bulan. Recent research has found that the Moon inherited the original noble gases from Earth’s mantle.
This was revealed by a geochemist, cosmochemist, and petrologist at ETH (Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule) Zurich, Switzerland, Patrizia Will. This finding is contrary to the hypothesis Giant Impact who hypothesizes that the Moon formed from a massive collision between Earth and other celestial bodies.
As quoted from Science DailySaturday (13/8/2022), Patrizia Will analyzed six lunar meteorite samples from the Antarctic collection, obtained from the United States Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).
Meteorites are composed of basalt rock that forms when magma escapes from the Moon’s interior and cools rapidly. Once formed, they remain covered in a layer of basalt that protects the rock from cosmic rays and particularly the solar wind.
The cooling process results in the formation of glass particles Moon among other minerals found in magma. Will and his team discovered that the glass particles leave traces of isotopes of the Sun’s gases, helium and neon, from the Moon’s interior. This finding makes it clear that the Moon inherited Earth’s original noble gases.
The researchers used a state-of-the-art noble gas mass spectrometer at ETH Zurich’s Noble Gas Laboratory named Tom Dooley. It is so sensitive that it is the only instrument in the world capable of detecting minimal concentrations of helium and neon.
Thanks to that, they were able to measure the sub-millimeter glass particles from the meteorite and ruled out the solar wind as the source of the detected gas. The helium and neon they detected were much more abundant than previously thought.
ETH Zurich professor Henner Busemann said this knowledge might help scientists in geochemistry and geophysics to create new models that show how gases can survive planet formation in this solar system.
Recent studies on the origins of Moon This has been published in the journal Science Advances.
Watch Videos”Scientist: Earth is spinning faster in 2022“
[Gambas:Video 20detik]
(pal/pal)
–
