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Science Forum Index » Geology Forum » Does the Moon have a volcanic surprise in store?
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| SBC Yahoo |
 Posted: Wed Apr 30, 2008 1:52 pm |
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Does the Moon have a volcanic surprise in store?
a.. 28 March 2008
b.. From New Scientist Print Edition. Subscribe and get 4 free issues.
c.. Marcus Chown
the scene. Aristarchus crater on the near side of the moon, 20 July 2019.
It's only a few hours since NASA's Altair 2 landing craft touched down and
astronauts are walking on the lunar surface for the first time in almost
half a century. Suddenly, a large area of the crater floor begins to
convulse and a titanic eruption of gas knocks the astronauts off of their
feet. They look back to see their landing craft has disappeared in a cloud
of dusty debris.
That's what Arlin Crotts fears could happen to the next crew that lands on
the moon. Crotts, an astrophysicist and cosmologist at Columbia University
in New York, has analysed over 1500 accounts of strange lights on the moon,
dubbed transient lunar phenomena. For decades, researchers have argued over
whether TLPs are real or merely tricks of the imagination. Now Crotts says
he has strong evidence that they are indeed real and caused by giant
eruptions of gas. If he is right, the moon is not the stone-cold, dead
satellite we thought it was and the eruptions may be due to residual
volcanic activity. Not only could that spell danger for future lunar
dwellers; we would have to rewrite the moon's geological history.
TLPs are one of the moon's greatest mysteries. Lasting from a minute to a
few hours, they can involve notable brightening, dimming or blurring
stretching over a few kilometres of the moon's surface. Some observers even
report a baffling ruby-red glow.
http://space.newscientist.com/article/mg19726491.600
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I think if there is volcanic activity on the moon, someone would have
witnessed it by now, it has been 300 years or so that man has been looking
at the moon through telescopes of various magnifications. No human has
witnessed an erruption, that I am aware of, on the moon.
It is an interesting theory, though.
Houston we have a problem here, the volcano just ate the lunar lander . . .
.. . . . .
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| John Curtis |
| Posted: Thu May 01, 2008 5:10 am |
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On Apr 30, 11:52 am, "SBC Yahoo" <atilla.the....@liberals.suck.net>
wrote:
Quote: http://space.newscientist.com/article/mg19726491.600
For decades, researchers have argued over
whether TLPs are real or merely tricks of the imagination. Now Crotts says
he has strong evidence that they are indeed real and caused by giant
eruptions of gas.
The same primordial gas if erupted into deep ocean would produce mafic
minerals:
olivine, pyroxene, ilmenite If injected into oxygen-containing
atmosphere,
the gas would be oxidized into silicon dioxide, iron oxide,
aluminum oxide, CO2 , SO2.
Since the Moon does not contain either water or free oxygen, the
lunar volcano does not form rocks; the gases escape into space.
However, hydrogen, one of the primordial gases, leaves an imprint at
the
lunar volcano. The mare basalt around Aristarchus crater is rich in
ilmenite:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aristarchus_(crater)
Escaping hydrogen decomposes ilmenite, FeTiO3, into iron metal,
water and titanium dioxide , TiO2, a white pigment
http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1993LPI....24..531G
Heavy reflectance at the crater , diminishing
at the rays, suggests that titanium dioxide (rutile)
is responsible for the appearance of lunar volcanos.
http://www.thunderbolts.info/tpod/2006/image06/060309aristarchus.jpg
John Curtis |
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| SBC Yahoo |
| Posted: Thu May 01, 2008 11:27 am |
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"John Curtis" <john@curtis.ms> wrote in message
news:e9e46505-08e7-41e5-ac1b-2f5d38d86d0d@r9g2000prd.googlegroups.com...
Quote: On Apr 30, 11:52 am, "SBC Yahoo" <atilla.the....@liberals.suck.net
wrote:
http://space.newscientist.com/article/mg19726491.600
For decades, researchers have argued over
whether TLPs are real or merely tricks of the imagination. Now Crotts
says
he has strong evidence that they are indeed real and caused by giant
eruptions of gas.
The same primordial gas if erupted into deep ocean would produce mafic
minerals:
olivine, pyroxene, ilmenite If injected into oxygen-containing
atmosphere,
the gas would be oxidized into silicon dioxide, iron oxide,
aluminum oxide, CO2 , SO2.
Since the Moon does not contain either water or free oxygen, the
lunar volcano does not form rocks; the gases escape into space.
However, hydrogen, one of the primordial gases, leaves an imprint at
the
lunar volcano. The mare basalt around Aristarchus crater is rich in
ilmenite:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aristarchus_(crater)
Escaping hydrogen decomposes ilmenite, FeTiO3, into iron metal,
water and titanium dioxide , TiO2, a white pigment
http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1993LPI....24..531G
Heavy reflectance at the crater , diminishing
at the rays, suggests that titanium dioxide (rutile)
is responsible for the appearance of lunar volcanos.
http://www.thunderbolts.info/tpod/2006/image06/060309aristarchus.jpg
John Curtis
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Ok, both arguments say the moon is producing gas emissions, from a molten or
perhaps a plastic inner layer, could this be the later stages of cooling, or
does it mean there is actually still molten lunar rocks sloshing around ?
I would tend to think, that since no erruptions have been visibly perceived,
that it might be still cooling, as opposed to already completely cool, and
there is still a hot or wark spot in the areas of past volcanic activity .
This could produce gasses, but not enough heat to produce a molten lava
erruption. But then, I am no expert, just a casual observer. . . . .
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