A new study revealed that the moon was subjected to many effects resulting from the movement of asteroids millions of years ago, which are greater than those effects on Earth that wiped out the dinosaurs, as these effects on Earth accompanied other effects on the moon at the same time.
Experts say their findings shed new light on asteroids in the inner solar system, including the possibility of destroying Earth-bound asteroids.
The team studied two-billion-year-old microscopic glass beads that were found in the ‘reg’, which were returned to Earth from the moon in December 2020 as part of the Chinese National Space Agency’s Chang’e-5 lunar mission. to form glass beads, and the scientists say their age distribution should mimic the effects, revealing a timeline of bombardment.
Lead researcher Professor Alexander Nemchin, from Curtin University in Australia, said the findings suggest that the timing and frequency of asteroid collisions on the Moon may have been reversed on Earth, telling us more about our planet’s evolution history.
“We have combined a wide range of microscopic analytical techniques, numerical modeling, and geological surveys to determine how and when these microscopic glass grains formed from the Moon,” he added.
We found that some of the lunar glass beads’ age groups accurately coincide with the ages of some of Earth’s largest impact crater events, including the Chicxulub impact crater responsible for the dinosaur extinction event.
The study also found that large impact events on Earth such as the Chicxulub crater 66 million years ago could be accompanied by a number of smaller impacts.
If true, it suggests that the age and frequency distributions of impacts on the Moon may provide valuable information about impacts on Earth or the inner solar system.