Not only did 400 billion-year-old volcanoes pour lava on the surface of the Moon, it may also have left the complete opposite: ice. Eruptions on the moon have happened for two billion years. These outbursts have ejected water vapor into space, and created short term atmospheres. The rest of the water vapor could have slowly crossed that atmosphere and settled on the Moon’s surface as ice.
Is it only volcanoes?
In 2009, scientists established the conclusion that ice is definitely on the moon. Since then, people have debated on where the ice came from. Some conclusions include asteroids, comets, electrically charged atoms, or volcanoes on the moon. The ever so peculiar origin of the ice on the Moon is “a really interesting question,” says Andrew Wilcoski, a planetary scientist at the University of Colorado Boulder. Scientists still haven’t found out how ice is on the Moon, or the exact location of that ice.
Creating the Moon
To answer this question, Wilcoski and his coworkers modeled the Moon with the help of samples of the ancient magma on the Moon. Using this information, they calculated the average amount of water the eruptions may have spewed. Their answer was equivalent to the amount of liquid in all five Great Lakes combined: 20 quadrillion kilograms.
The disappearing atmosphere
From the computer model, researchers saw that the Moon’s south pole has more ice than the north. This caused scientist to speculate that the sun may have melted the ice, and solar winds helped it blow away. Because the lunar south pole is faced away from the sun, it is twice as cold as the north pole.
According to Margaret Landis, another planetary scientist, “There are some places at the lunar poles that are as cold as Pluto.”
This is because of an atmosphere that helps the water molecules not to escape into the vastness of space. A new model proposes the idea that an atmosphere is created with every volcanic eruption. These new atmospheres would stay for around 2,500 years, until another eruption occurs 20,000 years later. This brings researchers to another question: Is water vapor really from volcanoes? To find out, scientists have a mission in mind for the future. This plan is to dig for ice samples to test for sulfur. Not only do volcanic eruptions contain water vapor, they also spread carbon dioxide, hydrogen sulfide, hydrogen halides, and sulfur dioxide.
Is it only volcanoes?
In 2009, scientists established the conclusion that ice is definitely on the moon. Since then, people have debated on where the ice came from. Some conclusions include asteroids, comets, electrically charged atoms, or volcanoes on the moon. The ever so peculiar origin of the ice on the Moon is “a really interesting question,” says Andrew Wilcoski, a planetary scientist at the University of Colorado Boulder. Scientists still haven’t found out how ice is on the Moon, or the exact location of that ice.
Creating the Moon
To answer this question, Wilcoski and his coworkers modeled the Moon with the help of samples of the ancient magma on the Moon. Using this information, they calculated the average amount of water the eruptions may have spewed. Their answer was equivalent to the amount of liquid in all five Great Lakes combined: 20 quadrillion kilograms.
The disappearing atmosphere
From the computer model, researchers saw that the Moon’s south pole has more ice than the north. This caused scientist to speculate that the sun may have melted the ice, and solar winds helped it blow away. Because the lunar south pole is faced away from the sun, it is twice as cold as the north pole.
According to Margaret Landis, another planetary scientist, “There are some places at the lunar poles that are as cold as Pluto.”
This is because of an atmosphere that helps the water molecules not to escape into the vastness of space. A new model proposes the idea that an atmosphere is created with every volcanic eruption. These new atmospheres would stay for around 2,500 years, until another eruption occurs 20,000 years later. This brings researchers to another question: Is water vapor really from volcanoes? To find out, scientists have a mission in mind for the future. This plan is to dig for ice samples to test for sulfur. Not only do volcanic eruptions contain water vapor, they also spread carbon dioxide, hydrogen sulfide, hydrogen halides, and sulfur dioxide.
