Researchers surprised to discover what’s inside the moon’s core

Fifty years after Apollo 11’s historic lunar landing, scientists have unveiled a major discovery about the Moon’s internal structure.

Researchers from CNRS, Université Côte d’Azur, Côte d’Azur Observatory, Sorbonne Université, and Paris Observatory-PSL have confirmed that the Moon has a solid core, similar to Earth’s. This breakthrough provides deeper insights into the Moon’s composition and evolution, answering long-standing questions about its internal structure.

The discovery, published in Nature, also helps explain the presence of iron-rich materials in the Moon’s crust. Understanding the Moon’s core composition is crucial for unraveling its geological history and formation.

For decades, scientists have debated the nature of the Moon’s interior, but this latest research provides compelling evidence that the Moon’s core consists of both a solid inner core and a fluid outer core, much like Earth’s.

The confirmation of the Moon’s solid core is the result of decades of scientific speculation and advancements in research. While the Moon’s formation remains a topic of debate, its deep interior structure is now clearer than ever.

This new evidence supports the hypothesis that the Moon differentiated early in its history, with heavy materials sinking inward to form a core while lighter materials formed the outer crust.

About two decades ago, scientists identified the Moon’s fluid outer core. Now, they have detected its solid inner core, which has a diameter of approximately 500 kilometers. This inner core makes up about 15% of the Moon’s total size and is composed of metal with a density similar to iron. The presence of this solid core aligns with theories suggesting that the Moon once had a magnetic field, which has since diminished over time.

Previous studies relied on various methods, particularly those analyzing the Moon’s rotation, to confirm the existence of a fluid outer core. However, due to its smaller size and lack of direct seismic data, the solid inner core remained undetectable until now. The researchers used data from multiple space missions and lunar laser ranging techniques to identify the solid core’s presence with greater confidence.

Besides the discovery of the solid core, the scientists provided evidence supporting the hypothesis of material movement within the mantle, the intermediate layer between the core and the crust, during the Moon’s evolution.

This phenomenon, known as lunar mantle overturn, helps explain the presence of iron-rich elements on the Moon’s surface. How did this process occur?

The material could have risen to the surface, creating volcanic rocks that were deposited in the lunar crust. Later, materials too dense to remain on the surface sank back down to the core-mantle boundary.

This research significantly contributes to our understanding of the solar system’s history and explains certain events, such as the disappearance of the lunar magnetic field. Initially, the Moon’s magnetic field was a hundred times stronger than Earth’s current magnetic field, but now it is almost non-existent.

The findings not only solve longstanding mysteries about the Moon’s internal structure but also enhance our knowledge of the dynamic processes that shaped its evolution. As researchers continue to study the Moon, these discoveries provide valuable insights into the early conditions and processes that influenced the formation of celestial bodies in our solar system.

The Moon’s core compared to the Earth’s core

The moon’s core composition differs significantly from the Earth’s core in terms of size, composition, and state.

Size and Structure:

• The Earth’s core is much larger relative to the planet’s size, making up about 15% of its volume and 32% of its mass.
• The moon’s core is much smaller relative to its size, accounting for about 1-2% of its mass.

Composition:

• The Earth’s core is primarily composed of iron and nickel, with lighter elements like sulfur, oxygen, and silicon.
• The moon’s core also contains iron and nickel but is thought to have a higher concentration of lighter elements, such as sulfur.

State (Solid vs. Liquid):

• The Earth’s core has a solid inner core and a liquid outer core. This dynamic structure contributes to the generation of the Earth’s magnetic field.
• The Moon possesses a solid inner core surrounded by a fluid outer core, much like Earth.

Temperature:

• The Earth’s core is extremely hot, with temperatures ranging from about 4,000 to 6,000 degrees Celsius (7,200 to 10,800 degrees Fahrenheit).
• The moon’s core is much cooler in comparison, with estimated temperatures around 1,500 degrees Celsius (2,700 degrees Fahrenheit).

Magnetic Field:

• The Earth’s liquid outer core generates a strong magnetic field through the dynamo effect.
• The moon currently has a very weak magnetic field. However, evidence suggests that it may have had a stronger magnetic field in the past, possibly due to a once more active core.

These differences reflect the distinct formation histories and evolutionary paths of the Earth and the moon. The Earth, being a larger and more geologically active planet, has retained more heat and has a more complex core structure compared to the relatively smaller and geologically quieter moon.

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