Moon may be 100 million years younger than previously thought
The moon is about 4.4 billion to 4.45 billion years old — 100 million years younger than previously thought, a new study has found.
The popular theory about the formation of the moon holds that it was created when a mysterious planet slammed into Earth about 4.56 billion years ago. However, a new analyses of the lunar rocks suggests that the moon, which likely coalesced from the debris blasted into space by this huge impact, is actually between 4.4 billion and 4.45 billion years old, “space.com” reported.
Researchers said the discovery, according to which the moon is 100 million years younger than earlier thought, could change our understanding of the early earth and the moon. “There are several important implications of this late moon formation that have not yet been worked out,” Richard Carlson, of the Carnegie Institution for Science, said. Our moon is believed to have harboured a global ocean of molten rock shortly after its formation. The most accurately determined age for the lunar rocks is 4.360 billion years.
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