🌕 Hold onto your lunar boots, space fans! A groundbreaking study just shook up everything we thought we knew about our favorite night light—the Moon. Scientists have discovered that lunar volcanoes were spewing lava as recently as 120 million years ago! That's way more recent than anyone imagined. 🚀
🔬 How did they find this out? It all started with tiny glass beads brought back by China's Chang'e-5 mission in 2020. These aren't just any beads—they're volcanic in origin. A team led by Professor Li Qiuli from the Institute of Geology and Geophysics at the Chinese Academy of Sciences analyzed these beads and discovered they formed a mere 120 million years ago. That's practically yesterday in cosmic terms! 🌌
💎 The team found high levels of rare earth elements and thorium in the beads. These elements are known to generate heat, suggesting that volcanic activity might have been fueled by pockets of these materials deep within the Moon. 🌋 Imagine magma fountains creating these volcanic glass beads—it's like the Moon was having its own fireworks show! 🎆
📜 Before this discovery, scientists thought the Moon's volcanic party ended around 2 billion years ago. But this new research flips that timeline on its head, pushing the volcanic \"last call\" much closer to our own time. 🌠
🌟 Why does this matter? Understanding when and how long the Moon was volcanically active helps us piece together the puzzle of its geological history—and maybe even our own planet's story. This finding shows that celestial bodies can surprise us, keeping their secrets hidden until we're ready (and equipped) to find them. 🕵️♀️
🚀 So next time you gaze up at the Moon, remember that it's more than just a pretty face. It's a dynamic world with a fiery past that's still revealing its mysteries to us Earthlings. 🌍✨
Reference(s):
New study reveals moon volcanism continued until 120 million years ago
cgtn.com
