Using data from NASA’s Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory (GRAIL), mission scientists have solved a lunar mystery almost as old as the moon itself.<\/em><\/p>\n Early theories suggested the craggy outline of a region of the moon’s surface known as Oceanus Procellarum, or the Ocean of Storms, was caused by an asteroid impact. If this theory had been correct, the basin it formed would be the largest asteroid impact basin on the moon. However, mission scientists studying GRAIL data believe they have found evidence the craggy outline of this rectangular region — roughly 1,600 miles (2,600 kilometers) across — is actually the result of the formation of ancient rift valleys.<\/em><\/p>\n “The near side of the moon has been studied for centuries, and yet continues to offer up surprises for scientists with the right tools,” said Maria Zuber, principal investigator of NASA’s GRAIL mission, from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge. “We interpret the gravity anomalies discovered by GRAIL as part of the lunar magma plumbing system — the conduits that fed lava to the surface during ancient volcanic eruptions.”<\/em><\/p>\n Continue…<\/strong><\/em><\/a><\/p>\n ===<\/p>\n *\u00a0NASA Mission Finds Widespread Evidence of Young Lunar Volcanism<\/strong><\/em> – NASA<\/a><\/p>\n NASA\u2019s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) has provided researchers strong evidence the moon\u2019s volcanic activity slowed gradually instead of stopping abruptly a billion years ago.<\/p>\n Scores of distinctive rock deposits observed by LRO are estimated to be less than 100 million years old. This time period corresponds to Earth\u2019s Cretaceous period, the heyday of dinosaurs. Some areas may be less than 50 million years old. Details of the study are published online in Sunday\u2019s edition of Nature Geoscience.<\/p>\n \u201cThis finding is the kind of science that is literally going to make geologists rewrite the textbooks about the moon,\u201d said John Keller, LRO project scientist at NASA\u2019s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.<\/p>\n The deposits are scattered across the moon\u2019s dark volcanic plains and are characterized by a mixture of smooth, rounded, shallow mounds next to patches of rough, blocky terrain. Because of this combination of textures, the researchers refer to these unusual areas as irregular mare patches.<\/p>\n The features are too small to be seen from Earth, averaging less than a third of a mile (500 meters) across in their largest dimension. One of the largest, a well-studied area called Ina, was imaged from lunar orbit by Apollo 15 astronauts.<\/p>\n Ina appeared to be a one-of-a-kind feature until researchers from Arizona State University in Tempe and Westf\u00e4lische Wilhelms-Universit\u00e4t M\u00fcnster in Germany spotted many similar regions in high-resolution images taken by the two Narrow Angle Cameras that are part of the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera, or LROC. The team identified a total of 70 irregular mare patches on the near side of the moon.<\/p>\n The large number of these features and their wide distribution strongly suggest that late-stage volcanic activity was not an anomaly but an important part of the moon’s geologic history.<\/p>\n The numbers and sizes of the craters within these areas indicate the deposits are relatively recent. Based on a technique that links such crater measurements to the ages of Apollo and Luna samples, three of the irregular mare patches are thought to be less than 100 million years old, and perhaps less than 50 million years old in the case of Ina. The steep slopes leading down from the smooth rock layers to the rough terrain are consistent with the young age estimates.<\/p>\n In contrast, the volcanic plains surrounding these distinctive regions are attributed to volcanic activity that started about 3 1\/2 billion years ago and ended roughly 1 billion years ago. At that point, all volcanic activity on the moon was thought to cease.<\/p>\n Several earlier studies suggested that Ina was quite young and might have formed due to localized volcanic activity. However, in the absence of other similar features, Ina was not considered an indication of widespread volcanism.<\/p>\n The findings have major implications for how warm the moon\u2019s interior is thought to be.<\/p>\n \u201cThe existence and age of the irregular mare patches tell us that the lunar mantle had to remain hot enough to provide magma for the small-volume eruptions that created these unusual young features,\u201d said Sarah Braden, a recent Arizona State University graduate and the lead author of the study.<\/p>\n The new information is hard to reconcile with what currently is thought about the temperature of the interior of the moon.<\/p>\n \u201cThese young volcanic features are prime targets for future exploration, both robotic and human,\u201d said Mark Robinson, LROC principal investigator at Arizona State University.<\/p>\n LRO is managed by Goddard for NASA\u2019s Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington. LROC, a system of three cameras, was designed and built by Malin Space Science Systems and is operated by Arizona State University.<\/p>\n To access the complete collection of LROC images, visit\u00a0lroc.sese.asu.edu\/<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n For more information about LRO, visit:\u00a0www.nasa.gov\/lro<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" A couple of recent studies\u00a0show the Moon still has many scientific surprises: — *\u00a0NASA Mission Points to Origin of ‘Ocean of Storms’ on Earth’s Moon – NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory\u00a0– On the West Coast of the Ocean of Storms (Artist’s Concept) Using data from NASA’s Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory (GRAIL), mission scientists have solved … Continue reading Lunar reports: The origin of Ocean of Storms + Young volcanism<\/span> ![\"PIA18821_ip[1]\"](\"http:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/10\/PIA18821_ip1-1024x599.jpg\")
<\/a>On the West Coast of the Ocean of Storms (Artist’s Concept)<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n![\"(Fri](\"http:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/10\/PIA18822_ip1.jpg\")
<\/a>Gravity Gradients Frame Oceanus Procellarum<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n![\"14-284_0[1]\"](\"http:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/10\/14-284_01.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n
\non the Moon. Called irregular mare patches, these areas are thought to be remnants
\nof small basaltic eruptions that occurred much later than the commonly accepted
\nend of lunar volcanism, 1 to 1.5 billion years ago.<\/em><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n