Spaced Out

[Zool]

Apollo Programme rock samples throw new light on the origins of the moon


Steve Connor Author

Science Editor

Thursday 05 June 2014


Scientists studying samples of lunar rock from the Apollo space programme have discovered evidence to support the theory that the Moon was created from the debris of a massive cosmic collision between the Earth and an object as big as Mars.

Concentrations of oxygen isotopes in the lunar rock reveal a distinct chemical signature of the original planet-sized object that was supposed to have collided with the Earth about 4.5 billion years ago, a study has found.

Until now scientists have been unable to find substantial isotopic differences between lunar and terrestrial rock. This called into question whether the Moon was indeed created in a collision rather than being bits of the primordial Earth that had been flung out into orbit during its early formation.

However, the analysis of lunar rock samples from three Apollo missions half a century ago has revealed distinct isotopic differences with terrestrial rock. Scientists believe these differences are remnants of the original Mars-sized object, named Theia, the mythical Greek Titan who was the mother of the moon goddess Selene.

“The differences are small and difficult to detect, but they are there. This means two things: firstly, we can now be reasonably sure that the giant collision took place. Secondly, it gives us an idea of the geochemistry of Theia,” said Daniel Herwartz of George August University in Gottingen, Germany.

Most computer models of the collision suggest that between 70 and 90 per cent of the material making up the Moon comes from the original Theia, with the remaining 10 or 30 per cent coming from terrestrial debris flung out from Earth during the glancing blow of the impact.

Until now, the giant-impact hypothesis to account for the existence of the Moon has lacked the smoking gun of distinct isotopic differences between the rocks found on Earth and those found on the Moon.

However, the study, published in the journal Science and based on the analysis of three rock samples brought back on Apollos 11, 12 and 16, not only shows significant differences in the isotopes of oxygen, but indicates that Theia belonged to a class of rare meteorites known as enstatite chondrites.

“If this is true, we can now predict the geochemical and isotopic composition of the Moon, because the present Moon is a mixture of Theia and the early Earth,” Dr Herwartz said.

“The next goal is to find out how much material of Theia is in the Moon,” he said.

Mahesh Anand, a planetary scientist at the Open University in Milton Keynes, who was not involved with the study, said the findings highlight the unique nature of the Earth-Moon system – most of the other 150 moons in the Solar System are either captured planetesimals or were formed directly from the debris of the planet they orbit.

“It is an exciting story but is derived from just three lunar rock samples. We have to be cautious about representativeness of these rocks of the entire Moon and so further analysis of a variety of lunar rocks is required for further confirmation,” Dr Anand said.

“This research brings back into limelight some of the unanswered questions surrounding the giant impact hypothesis that will require additional analysis of lunar and terrestrial samples to gain further insights into the origin of the Moon,” he said.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/scien ... 95017.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Munchy]

have you heard the one about how there were originally two moons before they collided & formed just one? the back side of the moon is a lot different than the front, actually made of a darker material, and mountainous.

Earth Once Had Two Moons, Say Scientists

First Posted: Jul 09, 2013
Earth Once Had Two Moons in Which Smaller Twin Crashed To Form One Lunar Body

Lunar scientists claim that Earth once had two moons in which the smaller moon collided with the moon visible today orbiting our planet.

Lunar scientists claim that Earth once had two moons in which the smaller moon collided with the moon visible today and formed the one orbiting our planet.

Professor Erik Asphaug from the University of California at Santa Cruz will explain this theory about the moon that will be held at the Royal Society in September 2013, reports Telegraph.co.

According to Professor Asphaug, "The second moon would have lasted for only a few million years; then it would have collided with the moon to leave the one large body we see today."

He states that the evidence of the smaller twin moon can be traced on the darker side of the moon that is not easily visible from Earth. The mountainous landscape of the moon is the remains of the Earth's smaller moon that was formed after the collision of the twin moons.

"It would have orbited Earth at the same speed and distance and just got slowly sucked in until they hit and then coalesced," the professor was quoted in Sunday Times.

According to the scientists, one time the inner solar system consisted of 20 planet sized bodies that collided with each other and just eight planets survived. They also assume that the Earth and its moon were formed between 30 million and 130 million years after the solar system was formed approximately some 4.6 billion years ago.

http://www.scienceworldreport.com/artic ... ntists.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[MadMoonMan]

Every thing shows that this "rock" with life on it would be impossible if all the parameters for life would not impossibly be available.

We were put here for a purpose or we would not be here.

Now, the purpose may be in question.

Butt, we ain't here by "chance"

And yes thats Space/Time related because I want to know what the hell is going on around here?

Mars screams anguishly, "WHERE WERE YOU JUPITER! WHEN I NEEDED YOU?"

yOU SAID YOU HAD MY BACK BUT THAT ONE COMET YOU LET THRU SURE WAS A DOOSEY!

[bentech]

actually...

given what we're seeing the galaxy over now,
its becoming quite evident that our systems gas giants formed well inside the orbits of todays inner planets before they migrated out to the current orbits

clearing away alot of debris and planets leaving just a few in a relative safe stretch of space

[Munchy]

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[deran]

backside of the moon is overcrowded

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=61KeFtSWnEU" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

chinese pics this time, we all have seen already nasas and esas versions

[deran]

actually...

given what we're seeing the galaxy over now,
its becoming quite evident that our systems gas giants formed well inside the orbits of todays inner planets before they migrated out to the current orbits

clearing away alot of debris and planets leaving just a few in a relative safe stretch of space

makes no sense, as gravity is the same now and then, and you cant work against physical laws, meaning that the mass which was there didnt allow them to migrate , if no event from outside happend, which isnt quite clear today

listing all elements inside our sol system, its more reasonable that our former proto sun (the sun befor our sun) cleared a lot more space than our system is using now

the supernova produced the heaviest elements possible, therefor the proto sun must have been some 1000 times bigger and mass rich, such a gravitational gap or vacuum (which makes no sense in terms of words - i dont know the exact term for it) , wouldnt allow free transits

on the other hand we dont know the timeframe between supernova and formin of our sun, so to speak the dark middle ages, where everything got lost, sure the gas and matter phase - like we see today in the orion nebula, can last short or longer periods, and in the meantime gravitational forces get new anchors ...

but ... there is always a big space (dozen sol system diameters) after a nova, and i didnt see this gap filled up (yet or in pics)

i also think those folks that say "yeah we learn from meteors and asteroids about the past" wont learn more, than the guy in the lab with his moonrocks - its like taking a stone from your garden and explaining continental drifts and magma re-circulation on earth

its said that neptune and uranus switched places , one theory why neptune has a 90° flipped axis, i still dont buy that one, as the newest look on things shows that such exo planets are more widly spread than first thought

and why the hell is our sol system in a different angle than our galaxy, i thought dark matter and force would take care of it ... at least they do with the outer arms ...

question and questions ...

[bentech]

a look at "our" galaxy shows its in the process of digesting 6 smaller galaxys which it has crashed into in the past

[bentech]

The distribution of trans-Neptunian objects provides strong evidence for planetesimal migration having occurred early in Solar System history. In addition to Pluto itself, a large number of other bodies (called Plutinos) are observed to be trapped in 3:2 resonance with Neptune. Some of these bodies have eccentricities high enough that they cross Neptune's orbit. This unusual distribution is likely the result of the outward migration of Neptune, driven by the scattering of a disk of planetesimals inward into orbits that eventually led to encounters with Jupiter and ejection from the Solar System. Simultaneously, the slow outward motion of Neptune captured Pluto and other bodies into the 3:2 resonance (a process known as resonant capture) and excited their eccentricity.

Although the evidence is less direct, it is also possible that all of the giant planets in the Solar System originated in a more compact configuration, which then evolved under the action of planetesimal scattering to its current state. The Nice Model postulates that this evolution included a crossing of the 2:1 resonance between Jupiter and Saturn, and links this crossing to the Late Heavy Bombardment (a transient spike in the cratering rate) on the Moon. The full consequences of such large-scale rearrangements of the giant planets remain to be explored.

The distribution of trans-Neptunian objects provides strong evidence for planetesimal migration having occurred early in Solar System history. In addition to Pluto itself, a large number of other bodies (called Plutinos) are observed to be trapped in 3:2 resonance with Neptune. Some of these bodies have eccentricities high enough that they cross Neptune's orbit. This unusual distribution is likely the result of the outward migration of Neptune, driven by the scattering of a disk of planetesimals inward into orbits that eventually led to encounters with Jupiter and ejection from the Solar System. Simultaneously, the slow outward motion of Neptune captured Pluto and other bodies into the 3:2 resonance (a process known as resonant capture) and excited their eccentricity.

Although the evidence is less direct, it is also possible that all of the giant planets in the Solar System originated in a more compact configuration, which then evolved under the action of planetesimal scattering to its current state. The Nice Model postulates that this evolution included a crossing of the 2:1 resonance between Jupiter and Saturn, and links this crossing to the Late Heavy Bombardment (a transient spike in the cratering rate) on the Moon. The full consequences of such large-scale rearrangements of the giant planets remain to be explored.

http://www.scholarpedia.org/article/Pla ... _migration" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Munchy]

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