Scientists say Moon formed almost simultaneously with Earth
American and European planetary scientists have analysed the composition of the Moon’s oldest rocks and concluded that the Moon formed almost simultaneously with the formation of the Earth, TASS reports
According to the scientists, calculations indicate that the frequent presence of 4.35-billion-year-old zircon crystal samples in lunar rocks is an indicator that the interior of the early Moon was almost completely melted as a result of gravitational interactions with the Earth and the Sun. This can only be explained if the Moon arose as early as possible, around 4.5 billion years ago.
It is noted that this conclusion was reached by a group of European and American planetary scientists led by Prof. Francis Nimmo of the University of California at Santa Cruz (US) when studying the age and structure of a large number of so-called zircons. This is what scientists call microscopic crystals of refractory rocks, which appear in the thickness of lava after its ‘surfacing’ to the planet’s surface.
