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The oldest evidence of Earth ’s ancient atmosphere may be lurking in rocks fromthe moon , a new study suggests .
That ’s the takeaway from a newfangled analysis of lunation rock candy that Apollo astronauts brought back to Earth 50 year ago .
Apollo 16 Mission Commander John Young uses a geology hammer to sample a partially buried boulder on the west rim of Plum crater. Lunar Sample 61016, examined in the study and better known as “Big Muley,” is to the right of the rover.
At the time , scientists observe suggestion of magnetism lock in the rock candy — a sign that the Sun Myung Moon had once had a charismatic field , much like Earth ’s . This was perplexing , because charismatic fields are driven by a planet or moon ’s core group , and the Sun Myung Moon ’s nitty-gritty is diminutive , study Colorado - authorJohn Tarduno , a prof of Earth and environmental sciences at the University of Rochester , told Live Science .
But the raw study shows that the moonshine has not had a charismatic field of operation for at least 4.36 billion years .
Their new study , published Friday ( Sept. 6 ) in the journalCommunications Earth & Environment , finds that the moon could only have been protected by a magnetic field in the first 140 million years of its existence . That ’s exciting , Tarduno told Live Science , because it means the moon could hold back a record book of Earth ’s former existence that has long been wiped from our planet itself . Without a magnetized field of operations to protect it , the synodic month could have picked up ions from Earth ’s atmosphere 4.36 billion years ago .
Panorama of Plum crater, with Apollo 16 Mission Commander John Young at left. Lunar Sample 61016, examined in the study and better known as “Big Muley,” is just above the right extent of Young’s shadow.
" One of the mysteries about Earth and Earth ’s evolution is really what was the early composition of Earth ’s atmosphere ? " Tarduno said . " We have no way of really get measuring of this on Earth . "
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Very few rocks old than 3.5 billion years remain on Earth , and those that do have been hard altered by Earth ’s ever - churningtectonic plates . The moon , by line , is geologically quiet , Tarduno said , and there are layer of lunar soil — called regolith — that may have run undisturbed for jillion of years .
" If we could chance a position on the moon that record this really old regolith material we might have a way to deduce what the early Earth ’s atmosphere was from direct measurements , " Tarduno articulate .
Magnetic fields are generated by the movement of magnetic materials at the substance of a satellite or moonshine , and they protect the aerofoil of that planetary body from the solar wind , which is a flow of charged particles fromthe sunlight . Certain iron - carry rocks can record the status of the magnetic field at the meter that they cooled and solidified because the magnetized minerals in the rocks will line up according to the magnetized field of force and get locked in that preference .
In 2021 , Tarduno and his squad found that the lunation did n’t have amagnetic field3.9 billion age ago . While the whole rock ‘n’ roll show some magnetization overall , this may be stimulate by meteor impact , Tarduno said . Single crystals in the rock-and-roll , a better record of geomagnetic fields , had no finical magnetized orientation , Tarduno and his squad showed .
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In the unexampled study , Tarduno count at the older lunar sample and push the day of the month of possible magnetic force on the moon by 400 million year . That ’s exciting , Tarduno said , because that timeframe represents Earth ’s very first aeon , the Hadean . There are no rocks from the Hadean left on Earth , and the planet ’s early atmosphere is a mystery .
The sun , a younger star topology then , was less aglow , raising questions of why early Earth was n’t an inert chicken feed ball . Thegreenhouse gasesneeded to inflame the planet to thaw under that dim Lord’s Day would have created a fog , not unlike that discover onSaturn ’s moon Titantoday . That haze would avert sunlight , making it even hard to get a warm planet where life could thrive .
" It ’s super interesting in terms of people thinking about planetary evolution and the doubtfulness of habitableness , " Tarduno enjoin . " If we ca n’t sympathize Earth , how can we say anything about the organic evolution of other planets ? "
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