Jakarta –
Huge masses of granite, which were slowly releasing heat, were found buried beneath the crater at Moon. These findings provide hope for human colonization of the Moon as dreamed of so far.
This find is ancient volcanism. In the past, the Moon had lava fields and eruptions, but astronomers have never actually found volcanoes like those on Earth Earth. Until finally, they saw what was under the Compton and Belkovich craters on the far side of the Moon.
Granite material is not very common outside of Earth, so when scientists found it on the Moon, it was pretty amazing. On our planet, magma forms deep below the surface, usually under volcanoes where it cools and crystallizes.
To produce granite, water and plate tectonic activity is very helpful. The research team used a combination of data from Chinese and American lunar orbiters to find heat-emitting masses beneath the surface, and identify volcanic processes never before seen on the Moon.
“Using instruments that see microwave wavelengths, longer than infrared, sent to the Moon on China’s Chang’E 1 and 2 orbiters, we have been able to map the temperature under the surface. What we found is that one of these suspected volcanoes , which is known as Compton-Belkovich, really shines at microwaves,” said one of the lead researchers Dr Matt Siegler, from the Planetary Science Institute, quoted from IFL Science.
This means that heat doesn’t have to be on the surface, as we see in the infrared, but can also be hidden beneath the surface. The only way to explain this is from the extra heat coming from somewhere beneath the features in the Moon’s deeper crust.
“So Compton-Belkovich, which is considered a volcano, also hides a huge source of heat underneath,” said Siegler.
The data shows silicon-rich lunar surface features 20 kilometers wide that are believed to be ancient volcanic calderas. The temperature there is 10 degrees Celsius, warmer than the surroundings, but not from magma beneath the surface, but from radioactive elements trapped in the rock.
“This interprets this heat flux as the result of a radiogenic rich granite body beneath the caldera. To be honest, we were a bit confused when we found it. Fortunately, my wife, Dr Rita Economos, so with her guidance, we were able to piece together the possible geological causes of the heat anomaly.” said Siegler.
As Economos explains, “This find is a 50 km wide batholith. Batholith is a type of volcanic rock that forms when lava rises into the Earth’s crust but does not erupt to the surface. El Capitan and Half Dome, at Yosemite in California, are examples of similar granite rocks that emerged to the surface.”
The presence of such a large granite deposit in this unexpected place suggests that there may be other areas on the Moon where granite may be found, perhaps elsewhere in the Solar System as well.
Watch Video “China Accelerates the Fourth Phase of the Moon Exploration Project”
(rns/agt)
2023-07-16 15:15:03
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