Volcanoes erupted billions of years ago, American and Chinese researchers have discovered.
Analysis of samples collected by a Chinese expedition found fragments of basalt (volcanic rock formed after an eruption). The fragments in question date back more than 4.2 billion years. The findings were published in the journals Nature and Science on Friday.
Although scientists already knew of volcanic activity on the particular side of the moon that we can see from Earth, the “dark side” is very different in its geology and remains largely unexplored.
The rock and dust samples – the first to be retrieved from the far side of the Moon – were collected by the Chang’e-6 spacecraft after a particularly dangerous mission lasting nearly two months.
Led by experts from the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the researchers used radiometric dating to determine the age of the volcanic rock.
Their analysis also revealed a “surprisingly young” explosion that occurred about 2.83 billion years ago, something that has not been found on the near side of the Moon.
“This is an incredibly exciting study,” claimed Professor Qiuli Li from the Institute of Geology and Geophysics in a detailed peer review.
“It is the first geochronological study derived from the Chang’e-6 samples and will be of enormous importance to the lunar and planetary science community.”
While popularly known as the “dark side,” this part of the Moon actually receives plenty of sunlight—we just don’t see it. This is because the Moon is “locked” to the Earth and takes the same amount of time to revolve around our planet, about 27 days. Which means the same side is always facing us.
The first image of the far side was taken in 1959 by the Soviet spacecraft, Luna 3. It was grainy, but it gave a glimpse of the Moon from a different angle. Several higher-definition images have since been released, including a stunning video showing the Moon from the far side, with Earth in the background.
*With information from BBC
