Asteroids Smacked Moon Stronger & Faster 4 Billion Years Ago
The moon, which has been pummeled by a barrage of asteroids and debris throughout its lifetime, experienced a strong uptick in the energy and speed of incoming rocks around 4 billion years ago, new research suggests.
A team of researchers from the NASA Lunar Science Institute (NLSI) at the Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, Calif., tracked the history of crater formation on the moon using digital maps, and found evidence of a dramatic shift in the velocity and energy of the asteroid bombardment during a period called the “lunar cataclysm” that occurred 4 billion years ago.
The timing of this shift could coincide with disturbances in the solar system’s main asteroid belt caused by changes in the movement of the outer planets, the researchers said.
Detailed maps of the lunar surface from the United States Geological Survey previously identified ancient regions on the moon to look for clues about the bombardment. The new study combined these observations with new data from NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter to study the impact craters found on these ancient surfaces.
This post was reblogged from cwl.
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