Rock collected by Apollo 17 astronaut in 1972 reveals moon's age

The crescent Earth rises above the lunar horizon in this undated NASA handout photograph taken from the Apollo 17 spacecraft in lunar orbit during the final lunar landing mission in the Apollo program in 1972. REUTERS/NASA/Handout/File Photo- U.S. astronauts Harrison Schmitt and Eugene Cernan collected about 243 pounds of soil and rock samples that were returned to Earth for further study.

The leading hypothesis for lunar formation is that during the solar system's chaotic early history a Mars-sized object called Theia slammed into primordial Earth. This blasted magma - molten rock - into space, forming a debris disk that orbited Earth and coalesced into the moon. But the exact timing of the moon's formation has been hard to nail down.

"Interestingly, all the oldest minerals found on Earth, Mars and the moon are zircon crystals. Zircon, not diamond, lasts forever," UCLA planetary scientist and study co-author Bidong Zhang added. "I see this as a great example of what the nanoscale, or even atomic scale, can tell us about big-picture questions," said study lead author Jennika Greer, a cosmochemist at the University of Glasgow in Scotland.

United States Latest News, United States Headlines

Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.

The moon is 40 million years older than thought, ancient crystal suggestsThe moon is even older than scientists realized, according to new studies of crystals brought back from the moon by Apollo astronauts in 1972.
Source: washingtonpost - 🏆 95. / 72 Read more »

The moon is 40 million years older than we thought it wasA new look at the age of zircon crystals in a lunar rock sample brought back by NASA's Apollo 17 mission in 1972 has revealed that the moon formed at least 4.46 billion years ago
Source: newscientist - 🏆 541. / 51 Read more »

The moon may be 40 million years older than we thought, Apollo 17 samples suggestSharmila is a Seattle-based science journalist. She found her love for astronomy in Carl Sagan's The Pale Blue Dot and has been hooked ever since. She holds an MA in Journalism from Northeastern University and has been a contributing writer for Astronomy Magazine since 2017. Follow her on Twitter at skuthunur.
Source: SPACEdotcom - 🏆 92. / 67 Read more »

Today in History: October 22, Apollo 7 returns to EarthIn 1968, Apollo 7 returned safely from Earth orbit, splashing down in the Atlantic Ocean
Source: sfexaminer - 🏆 236. / 63 Read more »

Apollo Wraps 15th Season With Punched-Up Bach, Armenian InspirationsApollo Chamber Players will wrap up its 15th year anniversary with We Will Sing One Song at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, May 13 at Rice University’s Stude Hall.
Source: HoustonPress - 🏆 314. / 61 Read more »

The Moon Is 40 Million Years Older Than Scientists ThoughtBy studying moon dust collected in 1972, scientists have come one step closer to understanding the mysterious origins of our planet's largest satellite.
Source: Newsweek - 🏆 468. / 52 Read more »