Mysterious, translucent glass balls found on far side of moon (2024)
Astronauts have found glass spheres on the moon before. But these on the far side present a whole new mystery.
Two mysterious, translucent glass balls have been found on the far side of the moon and scientists think they know how they got there. China's Yutu-2 rover sent back images of the objects.
Glass is formed when silicates, such as beach sand, reach intensely hot temperatures and become liquid. While glass balls have been found on the lunar surface before, the translucenceof these new ones is what makes them unique.
Some glass balls as large as 40 millimeters across were found during the Apollo 16mission in the Descartes Highlands and were brought back to Earth. But they didn't have that translucence.
How did it happen? Scientists suggest they were made either by a volcanic eruption in the moon's past or a meteorite impact, the latter of which is the more likely explanation, according to Science Alert. They were found near fresh impact craters.
It's also possible they were already buried below the moon surface and that meteorite impacts exposed them.
Those findings are expected in a Feb. 26 publishing of the journal Science Bulletin.
"Impact glasses on the Moon are formed by cooling of impact melt and/or condensation of impact vapor, and impact glass spherules have rotational shapes, smooth surfaces, and largely clast-free interiors," a preview of the findings reads.
That could make the spheres the lunar equivalent of a phenomenon seen on Earth called Tektites. According to the Australian Museum, Tektites are "small, pebble-like glassy objects of Earth material that have been melted by meteorite impact, splashed up into our atmosphere, and fallen to Earth again under gravity."
Glistening like translucent pearls against the moon's dry and dusty landscape, the lunar "spherules"' are the first of their kind to be found on the lunar surface and formed fairly recently, researchers say. Glass has been spotted on the moon before; by both the Yutu-2 rover
rover
A rover (or sometimes planetary rover) is a planetary surface exploration device designed to move over the rough surface of a planet or other planetary mass celestial bodies.
https://en.wikipedia.org › wiki › Rover_(space_exploration)
The glass spherules, also known as impact glasses or microtektites, form when meteorites smash into the moon at tens to hundreds of thousands of miles per hour, blasting chunks of lunar crust above the moon's surface.
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Two mysterious, translucent glass balls have been found on the far side of the moon and scientists think they know how they got there. China's Yutu-2 rover sent back images of the objects. Glass is formed when silicates, such as beach sand, reach intensely hot temperatures and become liquid.
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In 2020, data from NASA's SOFIA mission confirmed water exists in the sunlit area of the lunar surface as molecules of H2O embedded within, or perhaps sticking to the surface of, grains of lunar dust. Here is a brief history of the discoveries leading up to the confirmation of water on the Moon.
The far side was first seen directly by human eyes during the Apollo 8 mission in December, 1968. Astronaut William Anders described the view: “The backside looks like a sand pile my kids have played in for some time.It's all beat up, no definition, just a lot of bumps and holes.”
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There is no monolith, no secret base on the rim of a lunar crater. Close up, it turns out to be just a rock. The seemingly perfect geometric shape was just a trick of angle, light and shadow. The report was earlier noted on Twitter by Andrew Jones, a journalist who follows the Chinese space program.
Introduction: My name is Terence Hammes MD, I am a inexpensive, energetic, jolly, faithful, cheerful, proud, rich person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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