Science
Swiss give best estimate of Moon age at 62M years after solar system formed | Swiss give best estimate of Moon age at 62M years after solar system formed |
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| Written by William Atkins | |
| Saturday, 05 January 2008 | |
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Page 2 of 2
They state in their Nature article: “The Moon is thought to have formed from debris ejected by a giant impact with the early 'proto'-Earth and, as a result of the high energies involved, the Moon would have melted to form a magma ocean. The timescales for formation and solidification of the Moon can be quantified by using 182Hf–182W and 146Sm–142Nd chronometry, but these methods have yielded contradicting results. In earlier studies, 182W anomalies in lunar rocks were attributed to decay of 182Hf within the lunar mantle and were used to infer that the Moon solidified within the first ~60 million years of the Solar System. However, the dominant 182W component in most lunar rocks reflects cosmogenic production mainly by neutron capture of 181Ta during cosmic-ray exposure of the lunar surface, compromising a reliable interpretation in terms of 182Hf–182W chronometry.”
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