The Moon might not be as old as previously thought. Scientists at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California (USA) have calculateda new age of the only satellite of the Earth: 4.360 million years, that is, approximately 200 million lessthan the figure handled so far, as published today by the magazineNature.
In general, it is considered thatthe Moon formed after our planet collided with a body the size of Mars. The debris detached from that collision coalesced and solidified into what would become the satellite after hundreds of millions of years.
To establish its new age, Lawrence Livermore scientists evaluated lead and neodymium isotope samples found in the oldest rock in the lunar crust, which was transported to Earth during missions.Apolloand stored at NASA’s Johnson Space Center. In this analysis, they discovered that the Moon arose about 200 million years after the appearance of the first solid materials in the solar system.
“The extraordinarily young age of this sample means that either the Moon solidified later than previously thought, or we must completely revise our view of its geological history,” concludes Richard Carlson of the Carnegie Institution in Washington. UU), co-author of the research.
If the new calculation of the lunar age is correct, iIt would mean that the terrestrial and lunar crusts were formed at approximately the same time, shortly after impact. In fact, the dating of some zircons found in Australia and considered the oldest minerals in the world coincides with the new age of the Moon.
