A mystery blob with a mass comparable to a pile of metal five times the size of the Big Island of Hawaii has been found! Where has it been found ? Researchers say that its hiding beneath the far side of the moon.
South Pole Aitken Basin
The South Pole-Aitken basin is a massive crater that was carved into the lunar surface billions of years ago when the moon’s initially molten surface had just the right amount of cooling to allow impacts to leave a lasting mark. A recent study, published in Geophysical Research Letters, described the structure that is located at least 180 miles beneath the basin.
By integrating information from the GRAIL mission of NASA with topography from the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, the team was able to identify the unusual blob. They were able to use this information to improve their earlier estimates of the mantle’s density and the thickness of the crater’s crust. This study revealed a strange surplus of mass beneath the surface.
According to research by Peter James , the blob was probably involved in the development of the crater. This could be the metal core of a long-gone impactor. The center depression is a structure that is more than half a mile lower than the surrounding crater floor. It is a peculiar ovoid depression that is dragging down the lunar landscape despite the fact that it is not immediately apparent from the surface.
South Pole Aitken Crater Of The Moon
The South Pole-Aitken crater has in the past attracted a lot of attention due to both the nature of its surface and its magnitude. The finding of the strange mass only heightens the excitement. This is especially given that the neighboring lunar south pole and the crater are potential landing sites for many upcoming moon missions. Scientists are eager to investigate the mass. Such an endeavor might shed light on the events before the enormous collision that left the crater. It might also add important information to our knowledge of how the moon and other celestial bodies evolve through time.
Probes Of Moon Ebb And Flow
Ebb and Flow are the GRAIL mission’s two spacecraft. They were launched in 2011 and spent almost a year orbiting the moon. They carefully mapping changes in the lunar gravitational field. The GRAIL team used this information to create the most accurate gravity map of our lunar buddy to date.
The information provides a rough picture of both surface and subsurface activity. The stronger the gravity, the more mass there is, such as higher topography or denser rocks. These maps show a dramatic divergence between the South Pole-Aitken basin and the majority of the moon’s big craters.
Possible Explanations
The group offers two explanations for the subsurface mass. First, it might be the lingering traces of thick oxides that developed during the last moments of cooling when the moon was covered in prehistoric magma oceans. However, the researchers lack a mechanism to accurately explain how such a layer formed specifically beneath the basin. The team contends that the bulk may have come from an old impactor instead. The space rock that created the moon’s massive basin was probably large enough to have split into multiple layers when it initially formed, giving it a solid, metallic core and rocky outer layers like many planets do today.
The impactor’s metallic core was shattered inside the huge bowl-shaped crater that was created on the moon on the tragic day of its encounter. But the initial crater didn’t survive, as molten rock partially filled the moon’s divot. It still contained the melted remnants of the impactor’s core.
Overall, the research adds to the already existing interest in the South Pole-Aitken basin and the moon’s metal core.
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