Scientists have discovered that the Moon, which was previously thought to have been volcanically inactive for about a billion years, had volcanic activity while dinosaurs were living on Earth. Researchers examining samples collected from the Moon by the "Chang'e 5 Spacecraft" about 4 years ago found glass fragments that formed approximately 120 million years ago.
Researchers analyzed about 3,000 glass samples found in 4 of the samples brought back to Earth and observed a high level of thorium in the samples. GLASS FRAGMENTS FORMED 120 MILLION YEARS AGOScientists stated that the samples were volcanic glass due to their sulfur isotopes and chemical structures, and added that these samples were similar in structure to the volcanic glasses in the samples brought back during the Apollo mission. The researchers noted that these samples indicate that there was volcanic activity on the Moon 120 million years ago, which is 4.6 billion years old, and that this finding shows that the Moon was volcanically active for most of its existence. The research was published in the journal "Science".
|