Chemical make-up of samples indicates volcanic lunar activity up to 120m years ago
An earlier analysis of the rock samples from the Chang’e 5 mission had suggested volcanoes petered out two billion years ago. Photograph: PAVolcanoes were still erupting on the moon when dinosaurs roamed Earth, new research suggests.
Their chemical make-up indicates that there were active lunar volcanoes until about 120 million years ago, much more recent than scientists thought. “It was a little bit unexpected,” said Julie Stopar, a senior staff scientist with the Lunar and Planetary Institute who was not involved with the research.The glass beads are the first physical evidence, Ms Stopar said, although more research is needed to confirm their origin.
Researchers studied about 3,000 lunar glass beads smaller than a pinhead and found three with signs they came from a volcano.
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