Welcome to DU!
The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards.
Join the community:
Create a free account
Support DU (and get rid of ads!):
Become a Star Member
Latest Breaking News
General Discussion
The DU Lounge
All Forums
Issue Forums
Culture Forums
Alliance Forums
Region Forums
Support Forums
Help & Search
The Moon's Biggest Crater Is Revealing Lunar Formation Secrets We Never Knew
MICHELLE STARR 17 FEBRUARY 2021
A crater that covers nearly a quarter of the Moon's surface has revealed new information on how Earth's natural satellite buddy formed - and the findings have tremendous implications, researchers say.
A new analysis of the material ejected from the South Pole-Aitken basin impact has allowed scientists to refine the timeline of the development of the lunar mantle and crust, using radioactive thorium to uncover the order of events.
"These results," wrote a team of researchers led by planetary geologist Daniel Moriarty of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, "have important implications for understanding the formation and evolution of the Moon."
On a Moon that's absolutely covered with impact scars, the South Pole-Aitken basin really stands out. At 2,500 kilometres (1,550 miles) across and up to 8.2 kilometres (5.1 miles) deep, it's one of the biggest impact craters in the Solar System.
It was produced by a giant impact around 4.3 billion years ago, when the Solar System (currently 4.5 billion years old) was still a baby. At this time, the Moon was still pretty warm and malleable, and the impact would have "splashed" a significant amount of material from below the surface.
More:
https://www.sciencealert.com/the-moon-s-biggest-crater-is-revealing-lunar-ancient-formation-history