Astronomers always are in dilemma that how Moon’s core looks from the inside whether it is solid or molten. The new studies revealed that inside the moon is a solid core that resembles the density of Iron. It helps astronomers to understand the Moon’s history in detail.
This finding about the moon will help the Artemis mission Astronomers to understand more about its core. The French National Centre for Scientific Research Astronomers Arthur Briaud said: “question the evolution of the Moon’s magnetic field thanks to its demonstration of the existence of the inner core and support a global mantle overturn scenario that brings substantial insights on the timeline of the lunar bombardment in the first billion years of the Solar System.”
Astronomers Studied About Moon’s Core Through Seismic Activities
Astronomers studied the planets of the solar system through seismic activities. The acoustic waves generated by quakes move through and reflect from the material inside a moon and can help scientists create a detailed map of the object’s interior.
Astronomers have lunar seismic data collected from the Apollo mission, but its resolution is too low to accurately determine the inner core’s state of the moon
Astronomers Test Their Hypothesis Through Data and Models
Pictorial impression of various instruments measuring the properties of the moon to reveal its core. (Image Source: Nicolas Sarter)
Briaud and his colleagues collected data from space missions and lunar laser-ranging experiments. They made a profile of various lunar characteristics. These characteristics include -:
- The degree of its core deformation by its gravitational interaction with the Earth
- its density
- its distance from the Earth
After that, they made a model of the moon’s core and test it on their observational data. They made interesting findings:
First – The moon’s lunar mantle actively overturn. It means denser material inside the moon falls towards the center and less dense material rises upwards. This help astronomers understand the presence of certain elements in volcanic regions of the moon.
Second – They found out that Moon’s inner core is solid and the outer core is fluid. The model suggests that the outer core has a radius of about 362 kilometers (225 miles) and the inner core has a radius of about 258 kilometers (160 miles). The inner core density of about 7,822 Kg/cubic meter close to the density of iron. This discovery by astronomers about the Moon’s core helps them to understand its various characteristics.
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