Moon May Be 85 Million Years Younger Than Previously Believed

A study into Moon’s magma ocean reveals that the satellite may have been formed 4.425 billion years ago.

By Shayak Majumder | Updated: 15 July 2020 12:53 IST

Moon May Be 85 Million Years Younger Than Previously Believed

Moon’s magma ocean took nearly 200 million years to solidify after its formation

Highlights

Moon was earlier believed to be 4.51 billion years old
Moon’s now-solidified magma ocean was studied to reveal new age
Study was led by the German Aerospace Center

The Moon may actually be 85 million years younger than previous believed as a new study on the natural satellite's magma ocean offers new insight into the age of Earth's closest celestial neighbour. It was earlier believed that the Moon may be 4.51 billion years old, formed nearly 60 million years after the formation of the solar system. However, a new study suggests that the Moon may have formed 4.425 billion years ago.

The Moon is believed to have been formed when the Earth was hit by Theia, a protoplanet nearly the size of Mars. The term protoplanet is used to refer to a large body of matter which orbits around a star or the Sun and believed to be slowly developing into a planet. No recorded signs of Theia were noted years after the clash. The impact led to the formation of the Moon, which at the time was covered by a gigantic ocean of magma.

In a research led by the German Aerospace Center, scientists used a new computer model to help determine how long it took for the magma ocean to cool down and crystallize. It was discovered that the process took nearly 200 million years to complete, leading to the formation of solid mantle rock. “The time scale is much longer than calculated in previous studies,” said study co-author Nicola Tosi. “Older models gave a solidification period of only 35 million years.”

This new development goes against earlier studies that dated the Moon back to 4.51 billion years, claimed by a 2017 study led by researchers at University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). As the new data was revealed, the formation of the Moon is now expected to be around 4.425 billion years ago, making the satellite around 85 million years younger.

Poco M2 Pro: Did we really need a Redmi Note 9 Pro clone? We discussed this on Orbital, our weekly technology podcast, which you can subscribe to via Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, or RSS, download the episode, or just hit the play button below.

Affiliate links may be automatically generated - see our ethics statement for details.

Comments

For the latest tech news and reviews, follow Gadgets 360 on X, Facebook, WhatsApp, Threads and Google News. For the latest videos on gadgets and tech, subscribe to our YouTube channel. If you want to know everything about top influencers, follow our in-house Who'sThat360 on Instagram and YouTube.