The latest analysis of zircon, which is part of the lunar rocks, led scientists to very unexpected conclusions – the study showed that the age of the moon is 4.51 billion, that is, the Earth’s satellite was formed just 60 million years after the formation of the solar system, which is significantly different from previous ideas .
Surprisingly, it turned out to be rather difficult to answer the question of how old the moon is. Previously, planetary scientists hypothesized that the initial impact that created the Earth’s satellite must have occurred billions of years ago, while the discrepancy was precisely measured in hundreds of millions of years.
It is now possible to determine the exact age of the moon, according to new research published in Science Advance. A team of scientists led by planetary scientist Melanie Barboni carried out a detailed analysis of the minerals present in the rocks of the samples collected by the astronauts of the Apollo mission, and came to the conclusion that the age of the Earth satellite is 4.51 billion years, which exceeds the indications of all previous theories. That is, if the researchers are right, the Moon formed just 60 million years after the solar system emerged.
The presented rock samples were collected in February 1971 as part of the Apollo 14 mission. Scientists have studied these rocks for decades, so Barboni, whose task was to determine the age of the minerals, did not expect to make such a discovery. “More research and testing is needed before we can draw definitive conclusions,” said the study’s author, surprised.
