The moon is older than scientists thought
Formation occurred 4.51 billion years ago, millions of years earlier than previously believed
Date:
January 12, 2017
Source:
University of California - Los Angeles
Summary:
The moon is much older than some scientists believe, a research team now reports. Their precise analysis of zircons bought to Earth by Apollo 14 astronauts reveals the moon is at least 4.51 billion years old and probably formed only about 60 million years after the birth of the solar system -- 40 to 140 million years earlier than recently thought.
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FULL STORY
This is astronaut Alan B. Shepard Jr. on the moon in 1971 with the Apollo 14 mission.
Credit: NASA
A UCLA-led research team reports that the moon is at least 4.51 billion years old, or 40 million to 140 million years older than scientists previously thought.
The findings -- based on an analysis of minerals from the moon called zircons that were brought back to Earth by the Apollo 14 mission in 1971 -- are published Jan. 11 in the journal Science Advances.
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/01/170112110749.htm
