月球巖石與隕石撞擊有關(guān)

New research on a sample of the moon brought back by Apollo 17 has revealed how giant meteorite impacts formed parts of the celestial satellite’s crust.

一項(xiàng)對(duì)阿波羅17號(hào)帶回的月球樣本的新研究，揭示了巨大的隕石如何撞擊形成了部分天體衛(wèi)星的外殼。

A group of scientists led by the Royal Ontario Museum found that the formation of ancient rocks on the moon may be directly related to large-scale meteorite impacts.

由加拿大皇家安大略博物館領(lǐng)導(dǎo)的一組科學(xué)家發(fā)現(xiàn)，月球上古代巖石的形成可能與大規(guī)模的隕石撞擊直接相關(guān)。

Experts studied a rock returned to Earth by the Apollo 17 mission in 1972, discovering that it formed at extremely high temperatures of 4,300 degrees Fahrenheit. This, they explained in a statement, can only be achieved by the melting of the outer layer of a planet in a large impact event.

專家們研究了1972年阿波羅17號(hào)任務(wù)返回地球的巖石，發(fā)現(xiàn)它是在4300華氏度的極高溫度下形成的。他們?cè)谝环萋暶髦薪忉屨f(shuō)，這只能通過(guò)行星的外層在大的撞擊事件中融化來(lái)實(shí)現(xiàn)。

Researchers found the former presence of cubic zirconia, which has reverted to a mineral known as baddeleyite. The analysis revealed that the baddeleyite formed over 4.3 billion years ago.

研究人員發(fā)現(xiàn)了以前存在的立方氧化鋯，它已經(jīng)變成了一種被稱為巴德利巖的礦物。分析表明巴德利巖形成于43億年前。

“It was concluded that the high-temperature cubic zirconia phase must have formed before this time, suggesting that large impacts were critically important to forming new rocks on the early moon,” the scientists said in the statement.

科學(xué)家們?cè)诼暶髦姓f(shuō):“我們得出的結(jié)論是，高溫的立方氧化鋯相一定是在這個(gè)時(shí)間之前形成的，這表明巨大的撞擊對(duì)在月球早期形成新巖石至關(guān)重要。”

The study, which is published in the journal Nature Astronomy, sheds new light on how the outer and inner layers of the moon developed after Earth’s natural satellite formed.

這項(xiàng)發(fā)表在《自然天文學(xué)》雜志上的研究，為地球自然衛(wèi)星形成后月球外層和內(nèi)層的發(fā)展提供了新的線索。

“This new research suggests that large impacts over 4 billion years ago could have driven this mixing, producing the complex range of rocks seen on the surface of the moon today,” the researchers added in the statement.

研究人員在聲明中補(bǔ)充說(shuō)：“這項(xiàng)新的研究表明，40億年前的巨大撞擊可能推動(dòng)了這種混合，產(chǎn)生了今天在月球表面看到的復(fù)雜巖石。”。

“Rocks on Earth are constantly being recycled, but the moon doesn’t exhibit plate tectonics or volcanism, allowing older rocks to be preserved,” explained Dr. Lee White, Hatch Postdoctoral Fellow at the ROM, in the statement. “By studying the moon, we can better understand the earliest history of our planet. If large, super-heated impacts were creating rocks on the moon, the same process was probably happening here on Earth.”

“地球上的巖石一直在被循環(huán)利用，但月球并沒有表現(xiàn)出板塊構(gòu)造或火山作用，使得較老的巖石得以保存，”ROM的Hatch博士后Lee White博士在聲明中解釋道。“通過(guò)研究月球，我們可以更好地了解地球最早的歷史。如果巨大的、過(guò)熱的撞擊在月球上形成巖石，地球上也可能發(fā)生同樣的過(guò)程。”