University of Portsmouth scientists make groundbreaking new discovery about the moon

Historical theories about comet and asteroid collisions have been debunked by Portsmouth scientists in groundbreaking new research.
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A study by researchers from the universities of Portsmouth, Manchester and The Open University has revealed that large portions of the moon's crust was formed from massive impact events.

Published in Nature Astronomy, the research overturns previous theories that colliding asteroids and comets were only a destructive process, with the lunar crust being created by magmas rising from the planet's interior.

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The way the moon's crust formed is not how we've traditionally thought of it. Picture: University of Portsmouth/PA WireThe way the moon's crust formed is not how we've traditionally thought of it. Picture: University of Portsmouth/PA Wire
The way the moon's crust formed is not how we've traditionally thought of it. Picture: University of Portsmouth/PA Wire
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Instead, rocks collected from the Apollo 17 mission in 1972 show that it was formed at incredibly high temperatures.

This would have reached in excess of 2,300C, which the scientists say could have been achieved by the melting of the outer layer in a very large impact event.

Dr James Darling, of the University of Portsmouth, said: ‘The discovery reveals that unimaginably violent impact events helped to build the lunar crust, not only destroy it.

‘Going forward, it is exciting that we now have laboratory tools to help us fully understand their effects on the terrestrial planets.’

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The team used a technique called electron backscatter diffraction to discover the former presence of cubic zirconia, a mineral phase that would only occur in rocks heated to above 2,300 degrees celsius.

Radiometric age dating of the grain at the Swedish Museum of Natural History also revealed that it formed more than 4.3bn years ago.

The study was funded by the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC).

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