Gravity reveals what's hiding beneath the Moon's surface
Moon has two sides, one visible to us and the other permanently hidden away from Earth as the natural satellite remains tidally locked on one side.A new Nasa study, published in Nature, has now revealed why the two sides, the far side and the nearside, of the Moon are completely different from each other.Researchers developed a new gravity model of the Moon that includes tiny variations in the celestial body's gravity during its elliptical orbit around Earth. Nasa said that these fluctuations cause the Moon to flex slightly due to Earth's tidal force — a process called tidal deformation — which provides critical insights into the Moon's deep internal structure.advertisement
The data from the Nasa's GRAIL, or Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory, mission indicates that the moon's deep interior has an asymmetrical structure, apparently caused by intense volcanism on its nearside billions of years ago that helped shape its surface features."Our study shows that the moon's interior is not uniform: the side facing Earth - the nearside - is warmer and more geologically active deep down than the farside," said Ryan Park, supervisor of the Solar System Dynamics Group at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.The moon's nearside is covered by vast plains, called mare, formed from molten rock that cooled and solidified billions of years ago. Its farside has much more rugged terrain, with few plains.The researchers estimated that the nearside mantle on average is about 100-200 degrees Celsius hotter than the farside, with the thermal difference perhaps sustained by radioactive decay of the elements thorium and titanium on the nearside.advertisementSome theories suggest intense volcanism on the near side likely caused the gravitational differences. That process would have caused radioactive, heat-generating elements to accumulate deep inside the near side's mantle, and the new study offers the strongest evidence yet that this is likely the case."The moon plays a vital role in stabilising Earth's rotation and generating ocean tides, which influence natural systems and daily rhythms. Our knowledge of the moon has expanded through human and robotic missions that have revealed details about its surface and interior, yet many questions about its deep structure and history remain. As our closest neighbour, the moon continues to be an important focus of scientific discovery," Ryan added.In a second study, also published in the journal Nature, Ryan focused on Vesta, an object in the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter and found that instead of having distinct layers as expected, Vesta's internal structure may be mostly uniform, with a very small iron core or no core at all.From the two studies, the team could better understand what the Moon and Vesta are made of and how planetary bodies across the solar system formed.Must Watch
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