Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have solved the mystery known as “Man on the Moon ‘. It is a giant basin closest to the Earth side and that, until now was believed to be a result of an asteroid impact. The study, using data from the GRAIL mission NASA revealed that it was originally a large plume of magma from deep within the moon itself. The Procellarum region, as it is officially called the basin is roughly circular, a volcanic land of about 1,800 kilometers in diameter (almost as wide as the United States).
To carry out this work, published in Nature, experts created a high-resolution map of the area and found that the boundary is not circular but polygonal, consisting of sharp angles that could not have been created by massive asteroid impacts. Instead, the researchers believe that the angular outline was produced by giant cracks in the bark voltage of the moon cools it around a plume upwelling of hot material from the deep interior. One of the main authors, Maria Zuber, explained that, as cracks occurred, formed a “plumbing system” in the moon’s crust through which the magma could roam the surface.
According to scientists, the magma finally filled the small basins in the region and is responsible for the consequences of the creation of what is now seen as dark spots on the closest side of the Moon. “A lot of things in science are really complicated, but I’ve always loved to answer simple questions,” he pointed the researcher.
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