Collision with asteroid could cause ‘spots’ on the Moon; understand

A study published in early April by researchers at Brown University in Providence (USA) may have solved one of the biggest mysteries in lunar science: Why are there more craters on the far side of the Moon than on the visible side? World? According to scientists, this is because a massive collision with an asteroid that occurred about 4.3 billion years ago In the area known as the Moon’s south pole.

Research shows that the collision of a massive asteroid on the far side of the Moon resulted in a massive crater that reached the largest and oldest impact basin in the Solar System – the South Pole-Aitken (SPA). 2.6 kilometers in maximum width and depth up to 8.2 kilometers.

While this hidden side of the Moon is full of craters, there isn’t the same amount of holes we see from Earth because it’s largely covered by so-called craters. maria lunare (lunar seas), huge expanses of solid lava that appear as large dark spots visible to the naked eye. These lava fields may have covered ancient craters in the past.

Source: Shutterstock/Reproduction

Description of the lunar seas

But the explanation that craters on the Moon’s near side are partially covered by lava raises another question: So, why is there only lava “on this side” of the moon? According to the research, the effect on the SPA was so strong that it created a unique phenomenon in the Moon’s magma mantle that affects the opposite side.

The phenomenon was an enormous heat cloud spreading under the crust of our natural satellite. This cloud concentrated a few heat-producing materials on the visible side of the Moon, opposite the impact. The result was an intensification of volcanic activity at that pole.

ARTICLE Science Advances: DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.abm8475