The researchers report that thanks to the samples collected as part of the Apollo 14 space mission, they were finally able to establish a more accurate age for the moon. And it turns out that the natural satellite of our planet has already knocked 4.51 billion years. The analysis of the samples shows that the Moon was formed approximately 60 million years after the formation of the Solar System, which makes it 140 million older than previously thought.
“Setting the exact age of the moon is very important for understanding the evolution of the solar system and the creation of stony planets within it, including the Earth. But even in spite of such importance, the exact age of the moon was never determined, ”reports the team of the University of California at Los Angeles, who analyzed the samples under the guidance of scientist Malani Barboni.
According to the most popular theory, the Moon was formed from the remnants of matter that was thrown into space as a result of the collision of our planet with Thea - a space object the size of a planet that could exist in the early Solar System. According to another version, the Earth could encounter several smaller objects at once. Anyway, the collision itself, which subsequently led to the emergence of the Moon, was so serious that it could easily destroy all life on our planet. Therefore, it is very important to find out the details of this collision, because thanks to this data we will be able to better understand the evolution of our planet and find out when life actually decided to put its roots here.
According to a new study, it happened a bit earlier than we previously thought - just 60 million years after our solar system was born. Earlier calculations pointed to figures of 150-200 million years. In order to come to the true age of our satellite, a team of researchers analyzed samples of lunar soil taken during the Apollo 14 mission. The reason why we could not establish the more accurate age of the Moon earlier was the fact that by now there are very few well-preserved samples of lunar soil.
Most of the soil samples brought by the Apollo astronauts back to Earth are breccia, a mixture of various rocks, fused together under the influence of high temperatures resulting from the fall of meteorites. A very frequent occurrence for our companion should be noted.
In order to find out the true age of the moon, the scientists decided to refer to the zircon contained in the samples of lunar soil, a mineral that formed on the satellite as it cools and turns from a magmatic into a solid rocky world that we see now. The fact is that after its formation, zircon crystals practically do not change their structure, remaining pristine clean even under the influence of various geological events. The study of zircon allows researchers to find out exactly when it has hardened. And this is exactly what was necessary to know in order to understand when the Moon was fully formed.
“This mineral is invaluable if you want to understand what happened and when it happened,” says Barboni.
To determine the age of the moon, scientists have resorted to the method of uranium-lead dating. For this purpose, the samples were placed in a special acid, which virtually completely destroyed them. However, the result of the collapse was the production of uranium, lead, lutetium and hafnium contained in zircon. Since uranium is a radioactive element that very slowly becomes lead over time, this allows scientists to track how much of it has decayed and how long it took this process. The ratio of lutetium and hafnium in zircon may also indicate how long this mineral has retained its shape.
Combining the results of the analysis, scientists found that the age of the moon is 4.51 billion years, which makes it much older than previous calculations showed. In addition, it gives us a clearer idea of how and when our solar system was formed.
“The evolution of the Earth from this collision could only begin. Therefore, it is important to establish the exact time if you want to know exactly when the Earth began to develop into this beautiful world that surrounds us today, ”comments Barboni.
Despite the fact that this method of dating is currently the most accurate, some third-party researchers are skeptical about it. In their opinion, the peculiarity of the uranium-lead dating method, namely the placement of zircon in acid, could somewhat distort the results. According to Barboni, they took into account this moment.
“It used to be a problem. But not now. Now we have the opportunity to eliminate all related problems and controversial issues, ”says the scientist.
It remains to hope that, over time, the dating methods will become even more accurate, and then we will get an even more complete picture of how the Moon and the rest of the Solar System objects were formed, and also discover new details about life on Earth and the possibilities of its existence on other planets.
The article is based on materials .
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