The moon's volcano🌋

the moon's volcanoes are not dormant and they can erupt any minute for years we lived knowing nothing about it but now it's officially proven thanks to China's Chong 5 Mission shocking Discovery the lunar soil samples it brought back to Earth contained something absolutely unexpected hinting that volcanic eruptions may have occurred on the moon as recently as 123 million years ago geologically that's practically yesterday but the big question is are we safe down here on Earth we've long known that the moon was once volcanically active due to the dark regions lunar maria on its surface these Maria the dark plains that give the moon its characteristic markings are ancient lava flows that date back to around 3 to 3.8 billion years ago until recently scientists thought that those ancient flows marked the end of the moon's volcanic activity but the Chong 5 Mission brought back lunar soil that included several microscopic glass beads and three of them in particular revealed an extraordinary story they formed around 123 million years ago from volcanic eruptions an uncertainty range is a mere 15 million years the discovery of those tiny beads is super important because of their composition and Rarity measuring between 20 to 400 microns which is smaller than a grain of sand these beads are volcanic in origin and this fact sets them apart from most other lunar glass beads which typically form due to meteor impacts impact events on the moon create Glass by melting surface rock with Incredible heat and pressure the result is Tiny glass beads scattered all over the landscape yet the volcanic beads identified in Chong 5 sample were formed by magma erupting from beneath the moon's crust and cooling it into glass as it reach the Surface by using uranium lead dating which measures the decay of uranium into lead within the beads scientists managed to pinpoint their age with striking accuracy the results suggest that the last known volcanic activity on the moon happened within the past 200 million years making it a recent event in the moon's long history this discovery also aligns with prior observations of unusual surface features known as irregular M patches those are smooth Mounds surrounded by Rocky terrain they were first spotted by NASA's lunar reconnaissance Orbiter in 2014 these patches appear much younger than other lunar features potentially formed by volcanic eruptions less than 100 million years ago before Chong 5's glass beads these irregular M patches were among the best evidence of recent volcanic activity on the moon yet without confirmation their Origins remain uncertain and now the glass beads confirm volcanic action the findings raise new questions about the moon's inner workings in particular how could it retain enough heat to sustain volcanic eruptions we thought that the Moon had cooled significantly after its formation 4.5 billion years ago which made it volcanically inactive and without tectonic activity or an atmosphere the moon should have shed its internal heat long ago yet the beads suggest the possibility of some localized heat sources within the moon's mantle scientists think that heat producing elements such as potassium and thorium might be creating small warm pockets which generate enough heat to melt rock and Trigger isolated volcanic eruptions but wait Beyond rewriting the moon's history this discovery adds an intriguing twist to ongoing studies of transient lunar phenomena these sightings often reported as ghostly glows or hazes by amateur astronomers remain unconfirmed by scientific probes some experts just dismiss them as Illusions caused by Earth atmosphere but if the moon has small pockets of volcanic or outgassing activity TLP might have a real basis gases emitted from beneath the surface could explain such mysterious glows and possibly be a hint of residual volcanic action on the moon now if volcanic activity still lingers on the moon this might have exciting implications for future lunar missions in the coming decades astronauts might be able to use volcanic heat for generating power melting ice into water or even warming bases built into the frigid luner surface but recent geological discoveries aren't limited to Earth's natural satellite we learn more about volcanic moons beyond our solar system too the detection of a possibly volcanic exomoon orbiting exoplanet wasp 49b around 635 light years away means that volcanic activity may be a common feature among moons up until now Jupiter's moon EO held the title of the most volcanic body we know about but researchers at NASA's jet propulsion laboratory may have found a new candidate this potential exomoon came to light when scientists observed a cloud of sodium gas around the exoplanet but the thing is sodium clouds are unusual in planetary atmospheres and can suggest volcanic activity the sodium Cloud near wasp 49b had a bizarre unexpected Behavior it was moving erratically shifting size and occupying a space too large to be explained by the exoplanet's own atmosphere scientists thought the cloud could actually be generated by a volcanically active exomoon in orbit around wasp 49b volcanic moons like EO are known to release gases such as sulfur dioxide sodium and potassium which form massive clouds around their parent Planet EO for instance regularly produces vast amounts of gas that form a cloud encircling Jupiter up to 1,000 times the size of the gas giant itself if something similar occurs near wasp 49b the gas cloud could be a clue to volcanic activity on an exomoon orbiting the planet observ from the European Southern observatory's very large telescope in Chile seems to confirm this Theory the sodium Cloud around wasp 49b is positioned high above the exoplanet's atmosphere and behaves in ways that don't match the exop planet's 2.8 Earth Day orbit this could suggest that it originates from a separate body likely a volcanically active Moon additionally wasp 49b and its host star consists primarily of hydrogen and helium which makes the sodium Cloud even more unusual The observed rate of sodium release over 220,000 lb per second can be a sign of an immensely powerful volcanic Source if scientists verify the existence of this exomoon it would be the first discovery of a volcanic exomoon back in our solar system EO Remains the main space object helping us understand volcanic moons recently NASA's Juno spacecraft provided some of the closest images of eio since the Galileo Mission over 25 years ago io's intense volcanic activity is caused by tidal heating the result of the gravitational pull of Jupiter and nearby moons like Europa this tavore generates immense friction within eio producing heat that fuels continuous volcanic eruptions one of Juno's most exciting recent findings was a new volcano that appeared just south of io's equator Juno's images show a large complex volcanic region approximately 111 by 111 mil in size the craziest thing it wasn't there when Galileo imaged the same spot in 1997 this new volcano formed near the previously known volcano kind of he researchers say that this new volcanic structure is a great change that highlights the dynamic nature of EO surface eo's equatorial region is home to most of its volcanoes because of the concentrated tidal heating it experiences the most powerful eruptions emit sulfurous gases and produce bright lava flows they cover the moon in colorful sulfur Rich deposits Juno Cam's image taken from about 1,000 570 M away shows EO dramatically lit by sunlight reflected off Jupiter and you can see a stunning view of its constantly changing volcanic surface despite these detailed observations there are still many mysteries about eo's volcanism scientists are particularly curious about how tidal heating affects eo's interior and whether it has a subsurface magma ocean plus research try to understand what triggers different types of eruptions for example plumes versus lava flows and how volcanic gases shape eo's surface and thin atmosphere the study of volcanic moons from EO to the possible exomoon near wasp 49b sheds light on how tidal forces create volcanic activity in different moons in icy moons like Europa tidal heating sustains liquid oceans beneath the surface creating potential habitats for life but for EO without an ocean the same forces instead generate powerful volcanic activity plus if volcanic exomoons do exist like the one possibly orbiting wasp 49b we might soon discover more volcanic bodies across the Galaxy.