The Moon continues to hold mysteries that scientists seek to solve. And one of them was solved, and NASA was right: what is the nucleus of the only natural satellite of Planet Earth.
Researchers from the University of the Côte d'Azur and the Institute of Celestial Mechanics and Ephemeris Calculation (IMCCE) in France discovered evidence that coincides with what was reported by NASA years ago, according to a new study published in the journal Nature.
How the Moon's core is composed
One of the great doubts of science was the composition of the core of the Moon.
The Moon, the natural satellite of the Earth, full of mysteries.
A debate in the first half of the twentieth century spoke of a rocky world, such as the moons of Mars, Phobos and Deimos, or whether it possessed a different interior geology.
NASA planetary scientists obtained, back in 2011, clues to solve the million-dollar question.
They turned to seismic data recorded by Apollo astronauts, predicting what might be at the center of the Moon.
It was then that they speculated that it was likely that, like Earth, it had a solid inner core. And the numbers mark an approximate radius of 240 kilometers.
New study on the Moon's core
When the Moon was "young," Earth's gravity stirred its core and generated its magnetic field. NASA Photo
The recent study not only seems to confirm that the inner core of the Moon is solid, but also determined its approximate radius and density.
Scientists used geological data from the Apollo program and NASA's GRAIL mission, which used probes to monitor the moon's gravitational field for more than a year, to develop a computer model.
From that information, they created a likely profile of the Moon's interior, with features such as deformations created due to gravitational interactions with Earth, as well as the distance between the Moon and Earth and the satellite's density.
What followed next? To reach a conclusion, they compared some pre-existing models on scenarios to see which one best corresponded to the real data.
In this way, they determined that the inner core has a diameter of about 500 kilometers, only 15% of that of the Moon. Perhaps, they speculate, this small size would be the explanation for so much working time.
The similarities of the Moon's core with Planet Earth
Density, lunar mantle and more findings
The publication showed another key finding: the density of this core matches that of Earth, something that suggests that it would be composed of iron. And it is about 7,822 kilograms per cubic meter.
It also warns that its outer core is a fluid layer that lines the inner core and has a radius of 362 kilometers, the research reports.
Another finding points to a phenomenon called lunar mantle overturning, the middle layer between the thin crust and the outer core, shifted quite a bit.
It means it could have caused elements such as iron-rich material to rise from the core-mantle boundary to the surface, ending up in the volcanic rocks that now form the Moon's crust.
The new study published by scientists talks about the core of the Moon. Photo Shutterstock
"Our results question the evolution of the lunar magnetic field thanks to their demonstration of the existence of the inner core," the study authors wrote.
"In addition, they support a global mantle overturning scenario that provides substantial insights into the chronology of lunar bombardment in the first billion years of the Solar System."
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