New Supercomputer Simulation Sheds Light on Moon’s Origin
A new NASA and Durham University simulation puts forth a different theory of the Moon’s origin – the Moon may have formed in a matter of hours, when material from the Earth and a Mars sized-body were launched directly into orbit after the impact. The simulations used in this research are some of the most detailed of their kind, operating at the highest resolution of any simulation run to study the Moon’s origins or other giant impacts.
Credit: NASA/Durham University/Jacob Kegerreis
Music Provided by Universal Production Music: Genosequence by Alessandro Rizzo.
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ew Map Reveals Distribution of Water Near Moon's South Pole
A new study using the now-retired Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) has pieced together the first detailed, wide-area map of water distribution on the Moon. The new map covers about one-quarter of the Earth-facing side of the lunar surface below 60 degrees latitude and extends to the Moon’s South Pole. In this data visualization, SOFIA’s lunar water observations are indicated using color, with blue representing areas of higher water signal, and brown lower.
Video credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center Scientific Visualization Studio/Ernie Wright
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