Research ArticleOpen AccessGoogle Scholar indexed
Peering into Past: What Happened to the Moon 3.6 Billion Years Ago?
Schmidt Institute of Earth Physics, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia
Department of Geosciences, Faculty of Exact Sciences, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
- 1 Schmidt Institute of Earth Physics, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia
- 2 Department of Geosciences, Faculty of Exact Sciences, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
Copy link · social · email
Abstract
Invaluable data can at times be overlooked or not fully exploited when first collected. Striking conclusions can often be drawn on the basis of a specific analysis many years later. The Apollo 11 - 17 missions (1961-1972) provided detailed information on lunar basalts which make it possible to measure the iron grains in basalts from microphotographs of thin sections. Analysis of the average size of these grains ( D ) differed as a function of the age of these basalts dated between 3.9 and 3.4 billion years ago, revealed that D increased 1.5 fold, therefore the gravity acceleration g decreased 1.5 fold. The intriguing conclusion can only be that the size of the Moon increased, its mass decreased, or both these factors have changed.
KeywordsApollo 11 - 17 MissionsLunar Basalts“Iron Particles”Moon Parameters
- Pilchin, A.N. and Eppelbaum, L.V. (2006) Iron and Its Unique Role in the Earth Evolution. Mexico Geoph. Society, Mexico.
- Pechersky, D.M. (2012) Native Iron and Other Magnetic Minerals in Sediments: Thermomagnetic Signs of Cosmic Origin. Palmarium Academic Publishing, Saarbrücken.
- Pechersky, D.M. (2015) Distribution of Native Iron Particles and Fe-Ni Alloys on Planets. Palmarium Academic Publishing, Saarbrücken.
- Kramer, F.E., Twedell, D.B. and Walton, W.J.A. (1977) Apollo 11 Lunar Sample Information Catalogue (Revised). Curator’s Office, JSC 12522, Houston.
- Halliday, A.N. (2012) The Origin of the Moon. Science, 338, 1040-1041. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1229954
- Schmitt, H.H. (1991) Evolution of the Moon: Apollo Model. American Mineralogist, 76, 773-784.
- Dirac, P.A.M. (1938) A New Basis for Cosmology. Proceedings of the Royal Society A, 165, 199-208. https://doi.org/10.1098/rspa.1938.0053
- Anderson, J.D., Schubert, G., Trimble, V. and Feldman, M.R. (2015) Measurements of Newton’s Gravitational Constant G and the Length of Day. Europhysics Letters, 110, Article ID: 10002. https://doi.org/10.1209/0295-5075/110/10002
- Kaula, W.M., Schubert, B., Lingenfelter, R.E., Sjogren, W.L. and Wollenhaupt, W.R. (1974) Apollo Laser Altimetry and Inferences as to Lunar Structure. Proceedings of the 5th Lunar Science Conference, 3, 3049-3058.