Where does the water in the Moon come from? – Hipertextual

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Until recently, the existence of water on the moon was the result of a fierce debate. A few years ago, however, some tests were able to find evidence of the liquid element. A little later the discovery was confirmed. But then another group would equally tricky questions: where the water comes on the Moon? Although it may seem a trivial question, the fact is that in it reside some fundamental questions. Issues referring even to our source . Now, a study published recently in Nature Communications offers a robust response to the question, closing the frame on a table so far was dark.

The origin of the Moon

we explained, this issue has been arduously discussed by thousands of experts throughout the world. Until 2009 the scientific community was convinced that the existence of water on the moon was impossible due simply to the sun. The ephemeral atmosphere of the moon is unable to protect against solar radiation, so the sun-exposed areas get very hot when the lights. Thus, any remaining water ice, experts debated should have been sublimated time ago except for the poles or places where the sun never comes. Only micro-crystals in the rocks could have resisted. Or so I thought. In 2009, NASA LCROSS crashed at the bottom of Cabeus crater at the south pole of the moon, sending up a huge column of material. Among the material was frozen water.

But this was only confirmation of what other satellites and probes had insinuated and yes there is water on the Moon. More than we imagined at first. And is that not only in the eternally dark craters . But several data points to his presence inside our satellite. But how did it get there? Before going it is good to review what we know about this star. There are several hypotheses about its origin. Currently the most widely accepted is that which explains that long ago a hypothetical planet called Theia collided with our small planet, tearing much of it. Only millions of years later, time and stellar phenomena allowed both Earth and the Moon acquire the form we know today.

Asteroids, the culprits

According to the recent study published in Nature Communications, Jessica Barnes and his team at the Open University in Milton Keynes, UK, it has managed to draw a plausible scenario for the origin of water on the moon. According to their study, it would come largely from a series of asteroids that hit with our satellite in a period that ranges between 10 and 200 million years . To give us an idea, some 4,500 million years ago, when Earth and the moon broke away, on the surface of the satellite a huge magma ocean would take millions of years to cool it formed, forming its surface. It is during this time when the asteroid hit in that burning sea, explain in the study.

During this period between 10 and 200 million years, a series of asteroids called carbonaceous chondrites , very rich in water, impacting on its surface, leaving its content trapped inside thanks to the thermal cover. Thus, the water on the Moon was locked with no possibility of escape and get lost in the form of gas. “Asteroids could well be responsible for all the water in the moon,” says Dr. Jessica to Hipertextual Barnes. “At least the majority.” It is possible that some water comes from the proto-Earth, torn at the time when the moon formed, tells us. “But more studies are needed to confirm how much was inherited in this way”. According to their model, approximately 20% of the water to comets, unlike asteroids have a much richer composition in ice and gases is due to its rocky counterpart, the asteroid.

a series of asteroids called carbonaceous chondrites, very rich in water, impacting on the surface of the Moon This is an important fact that would solve part of the mystery in a coherent way. Also it shows us an example of what we believe was the origin of water on Earth. “Asteroids have played a leading role in bringing water and volatiles both the Moon and Earth,” says Dr. Barnes. Their model takes into account the data and observations acquired in numerous studies would be confirmed some of the expected results in related experiments to confirm what looks like a pretty solid model. This means that already meets a lot of data previously inferred. In any case, the implications of this model are very interesting because it sheds light on our origin and the origin of which is probably the most important element of our system. Water