Posted on 09/08/2020 6:41:37 AM PDT by Red Badger
The rust may be a result of the water discovered on the moon
A newly published study notes that the moon is "rusting," leaving experts perplexed by the discovery.
The research, published in Science Advances, notes that the rust may be a result of water discovered on the moon, but it's still shocking, given the lack of oxygen and dearth of water on Earth's celestial satellite.
"It's very puzzling," the study's lead author, Shuai Li of the University of Hawaii, said in a statement. "The moon is a terrible environment for hematite to form in."
Li was looking at data from the JPL Moon Mineralogy Mapper when the researcher realized the instrument detected "spectra - or light reflected off surfaces - that revealed the Moon's poles had a very different composition than the rest of it," the statement added.
The polar surfaces showed spectra that matched the mineral hematite (Fe2O3), according to the study's abstract.
"Although oxidizing processes have been speculated to operate on the lunar surface and form ferric iron–bearing minerals, unambiguous detections of ferric minerals forming under highly reducing conditions on the Moon have remained elusive," the researchers wrote in the study's abstract. "Our analyses of the Moon Mineralogy Mapper data show that hematite, a ferric mineral, is present at high latitudes on the Moon, mostly associated with east- and equator-facing sides of topographic highs, and is more prevalent on the nearside than the farside."
Rust, which is also known as iron oxide, gives Mars its reddish color.
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
Thanks Red Badger.
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Maybe we could get Elon Musk to launch a huge can of 3 in 1 Oil................
We can build a replacement moon for only $852,000,000,000,000,000.
democrats’ wet dream.
Sure, then the danged Moon will will smell like Musk oil.
Wonderful! Comets smell bad enough, (cat pee), so I wonder how bad or good will earth smell from low orbit?
Can we vacuum plate a small asteroid or part of the moon with metallic chrome or gold? Cool!
If it is the same one I have you will find a bunch of interesting questions in that book but no real answers.
We'd have to get the chromium or gold from an asteroid, but if we start doing that, we won't be using it for that. :^)
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