Баруун хойд Африкаас олдсон солир нь 3.5 тэрбум жилийн тэртээх Сарны түүхэн дэх томоохон мөргөлдөөнийг судлах ховор боломжийг эрдэмтдэд олгожээ.
“Geology” сэтгүүлд нийтлэгдсэн судалгаагаар, “Northwest Africa 12593” хэмээх уг солир нь Сарны гадаргууд нөлөөлсөн гурван өөр мөргөлдөөний үйл явцыг өөртөө хадгалж үлдсэн болохыг тогтоожээ. Дэлхий дээрх цаг уур, тектоник хөдөлгөөн нь эртний үйл явдлын ул мөрийг арилгадаг бол Сарны геологийн бүтэц нь ийм түүхэн баримтыг хадгалах “геологийн архив” болдог байна. Эрдэмтэд радиометрийн аргаар судалгаа хийж, хамгийн эртний мөргөлдөөн 3.5 тэрбум жилийн өмнө болсныг баталжээ.
Судлаачдын тайлбарласнаар, уг мөргөлдөөн нь маш хүчтэй байсан тул Сарны гадаргуугийн хэсгийг хайлуулж, улмаар чулуулгийн хэлтэрхийнүүдийг нэгтгэн “брекчиа” хэмээх цементэн бүтэцтэй чулуулгийг үүсгэжээ. Мөн солирын доторх “кубик циркон” хэмээх өндөр температурт үүсдэг эрдсийн задрал болон дахин талсжсан ул мөр нь тухайн үед Сарны гадаргуу хэр зэрэг халуун байсныг баталж байна.
Энэхүү олдвор нь тухайн үед Дэлхий болон астероидын бүс дэх Веста гариг дээр ч томоохон мөргөлдөөнүүд болж байсныг давхар гэрчилж байгаа нь сонирхол татаж байна. Эрдэмтдийн үзэж буйгаар, эдгээр гамшгийн шинжтэй үйл явдлуудын давтамж нь Дэлхий дээр амьдрал анх үүсэж эхэлж байсан үеийн нөхцөл байдлыг ойлгоход нэн чухал ач холбогдолтой юм. Ийм төрлийн солирууд нь сансрын хөлгүүдийн очиж чадаагүй Сарны алслагдсан бүс нутгуудын талаарх мэдээллийг өгдөгөөрөө онцлогтой.
Дэлгэрэнгүйг эх сурвалжаас харах
↓Эх сурвалжийг нээх ↓
A small meteorite discovered in northwest Africa has given scientists a rare look into one of the Moon’s most violent moments. The lunar rock, known as Northwest Africa 12593, preserves evidence of a massive impact that struck the Moon around 3.5 billion years ago, at a time when the first signs of life were beginning to appear on Earth.
The Moon is often described as a geological archive. Unlike Earth, it has no weather, oceans, or plate tectonics to erase traces of ancient events. As a result, lunar rocks can preserve records that have long vanished from our own planet.
That is what makes Northwest Africa 12593 so valuable. By studying the meteorite, researchers were able to reconstruct a sequence of impacts recorded inside the rock and uncover clues about a particularly turbulent period in the history of the inner solar system. Their findings were published in the journal Geology.
A Rock With A History Written By Impacts
Scientists found that the meteorite records three separate impact events that occurred over billions of years. Based on the study published in Geology, the oldest event dates back about 3.5 billion years. Researchers used radiometric dating to determine the age of the impact, making it one of the few surviving records from such a distant era.
This was no ordinary collision. The impact was powerful enough to melt part of the lunar surface, creating a large sheet of molten rock. Later, another impact shattered and mixed different rock fragments together, forming what geologists call a breccia. Carolyn Crow, a planetary scientist at the University of Colorado Boulder, compared the structure to concrete.
“You would see all these little rocks, and then it’s fused together by the cement,” she explained. In this case, the fragments were fused together by the impact process itself.
The meteorite’s final chapter came much later, when another collision blasted it off the Moon and sent it on a journey through space before it eventually landed on Earth.
Extreme Heat Found Inside Ancient Meteorite
One of the strongest clues came from traces linked to cubic zirconia, a mineral that forms only under extremely high temperatures. Most people know cubic zirconia as a diamond substitute used in jewelry. In this case, it served as a geological marker.
As explained by the researchers, the mineral itself did not survive inside the meteorite, but it left behind distinctive traces after breaking down and recrystallizing. Those traces indicate that the ancient impact heated lunar rock to extraordinary temperatures. The evidence points to a collision energetic enough to transform part of the Moon’s surface into molten material.
The discovery helps researchers estimate the scale of the event and understand how powerful impacts shaped the lunar surface during the Moon’s early history.
Moon, Earth, and Vesta Linked?
What makes the finding especially intriguing is its timing. As explained in the research, the 3.5-billion-year-old impact appears to line up with evidence of major impacts recorded on Earth and on Vesta, one of the largest objects in the asteroid belt. Finding matching records across three different worlds is unusual.
“It’s not very common, which is why we’re very excited about it,” Crow noted. “It’s pretty rare to have all three records line up like this.”
Scientists are interested in these connections because they could help paint a clearer picture of conditions in the inner solar system at the time. The impact occurred during a period that overlaps with the earliest known evidence of life on Earth.
“It is important for understanding how life is taking hold, how life is emerging. The cadence of these catastrophic events is an important part of the equation,” he added.
The research also underscores the increasing value of lunar meteorites. Unlike samples collected during the Apollo, Luna, and Chang’e missions, which came from specific landing sites, lunar meteorites may originate from unexplored regions of the Moon.
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