FollowA new study of the moon has suggested a new age of the Earth’s satellite, which is 100 million years younger than thought.
According to the scientists, the Moon is about 4.4 billion to 4.45 billion years old. It means the celestial body is 100 million years younger than previously thought.
According to a popular theory on the formation of the Moon, it was created when a mysterious planet slammed into Earth’s surface about 4.56 billion years ago. But the new study 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.
Researchers said the discovery, may change our understanding of the early Earth as well as its natural satellite.
Richard Carlson of the Carnegie Institution for Science, said, “There are several important implications of this late
Moon formation that has not yet been worked out. For example, if the Earth was already differentiated prior to the giant impact, would the impact have blown off the primordial atmosphere that formed from this earlier epoch of Earth history?”
The Moon is believed to have harbored a global ocean of molten rocks shortly after its formation. The most accurately determined age for the lunar rocks that arose from that ocean is 4.360 billion years, researchers said.
