The Moon might look calm and quiet now, but long ago, it was a fiery ball of volcanic activity! 🌋 Scientists have been puzzled for years about strange heat spots under its surface, but now they think they've cracked the mystery. It turns out, massive underground lava chambers from ancient eruptions are still slowly cooling, keeping certain areas warmer than expected. These hidden "hot pockets" (not the snack kind! 😆) help explain why the Moon isn't completely frozen solid inside. This discovery could even change what we know about how moons and planets cool down over time. Who knew the Moon was still holding onto its volcanic secrets? 🌕🔥 Credit:
Seeing Moon: by Philipp Salzgeber, CC BY-SA 2.0 AT https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Seeing_Moon.gif
CC BY 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/:
嫦娥五号“太空打水漂”: by 中国新闻网, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:2020年12月17日_嫦娥五号“太空打水漂”返回地球_五星红旗永久留在月面.webm
“长五”送“嫦五”: by 中国新闻网 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:“长五”送“嫦五”_开启中国首次地外天体采样返回之旅.webm
Lipari-Obsidienne: by Ji-Elle, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Lipari-Obsidienne_(5).jpg
Radiation Test: by MsMilkytheclown1, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Shocking_Tokyo_Japan_Radiation_Test_by_Chris_Busby_(Fukushima_Fallout).webm
“长五”送“嫦五”: by 中国新闻网, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:“长五”送“嫦五”_开启中国首次地外天体采样返回之旅.webm
Io from Juno: by NASA / SWRI / MSSS / Jason Perry, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Image_of_Io_from_Juno_JunoCam_from_December_2023.png
CC BY 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/:
Chang'e-5: by Hui Ren, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Chang%27e-5_soil_samples.png
Heliumblasen: by Li Ao et al., https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Heliumblasen.jpg
Moon-Maskelyne: by NASA/GSFC/Arizona State University, https://science.nasa.gov/mission/lro/, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:14284-Moon-Maskelyne-LRO-20141012.jpg
Sosigenes Irregular: by NASA/GSFC/Arizona State University, https://www.lroc.asu.edu/images/818, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Sosigenes_Irregular_Mare_Patch_M1108117962.jpg
LRO Shots: by NASA's Scientific Visualization Studio - KBR Wyle Services, LLC/Adriana Manrique Gutierrez, ADNET Systems, Inc./Aaron E. Lepsch, Advocates in Manpower Management, Inc./David Ladd, https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/20369, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:LRO_Beauty_Shots_(SVS20369_-_LRO_CU01_wide_30fps_proRes).webm
Europa orbit.theora: by NASA/JPL, https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/multimedia/display.cfm?IM_ID=5867, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Europa_orbit.theora.ogv
Roadmap to the Moon: by NASA's Scientific Visualization Studio - Abacus Technology Corporation/David Ladd, USRA/Ernie Wright, KBR Wyle Services, LLC/Krystofer Kim, ADNET Systems, Inc./Aaron E. Lepsch, https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/14595, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Roadmap_to_the_Moon-_LRO_to_Artemis_(SVS14595).webm
LRO FirstImage: by NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center/Arizona State University, https://www.nasa.gov/, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:LRO_FirstImage.jpg
Tvastarpic2: by NASA/JPL/Galileo, https://www.nasa.gov/, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Tvastarpic2.jpg
WASP-49 b: by NASA Science, https://science.nasa.gov/exoplanet-catalog/wasp-49-b/
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This video is made for entertainment purposes. We do not make any warranties about the completeness, safety and reliability. Any action you take upon the information in this video is strictly at your own risk, and we will not be liable for any damages or losses. It is the viewer's responsibility to use judgement, care and precaution if you plan to replicate.
Seeing Moon: by Philipp Salzgeber, CC BY-SA 2.0 AT https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Seeing_Moon.gif
CC BY 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/:
嫦娥五号“太空打水漂”: by 中国新闻网, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:2020年12月17日_嫦娥五号“太空打水漂”返回地球_五星红旗永久留在月面.webm
“长五”送“嫦五”: by 中国新闻网 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:“长五”送“嫦五”_开启中国首次地外天体采样返回之旅.webm
Lipari-Obsidienne: by Ji-Elle, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Lipari-Obsidienne_(5).jpg
Radiation Test: by MsMilkytheclown1, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Shocking_Tokyo_Japan_Radiation_Test_by_Chris_Busby_(Fukushima_Fallout).webm
“长五”送“嫦五”: by 中国新闻网, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:“长五”送“嫦五”_开启中国首次地外天体采样返回之旅.webm
Io from Juno: by NASA / SWRI / MSSS / Jason Perry, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Image_of_Io_from_Juno_JunoCam_from_December_2023.png
CC BY 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/:
Chang'e-5: by Hui Ren, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Chang%27e-5_soil_samples.png
Heliumblasen: by Li Ao et al., https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Heliumblasen.jpg
Moon-Maskelyne: by NASA/GSFC/Arizona State University, https://science.nasa.gov/mission/lro/, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:14284-Moon-Maskelyne-LRO-20141012.jpg
Sosigenes Irregular: by NASA/GSFC/Arizona State University, https://www.lroc.asu.edu/images/818, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Sosigenes_Irregular_Mare_Patch_M1108117962.jpg
LRO Shots: by NASA's Scientific Visualization Studio - KBR Wyle Services, LLC/Adriana Manrique Gutierrez, ADNET Systems, Inc./Aaron E. Lepsch, Advocates in Manpower Management, Inc./David Ladd, https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/20369, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:LRO_Beauty_Shots_(SVS20369_-_LRO_CU01_wide_30fps_proRes).webm
Europa orbit.theora: by NASA/JPL, https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/multimedia/display.cfm?IM_ID=5867, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Europa_orbit.theora.ogv
Roadmap to the Moon: by NASA's Scientific Visualization Studio - Abacus Technology Corporation/David Ladd, USRA/Ernie Wright, KBR Wyle Services, LLC/Krystofer Kim, ADNET Systems, Inc./Aaron E. Lepsch, https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/14595, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Roadmap_to_the_Moon-_LRO_to_Artemis_(SVS14595).webm
LRO FirstImage: by NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center/Arizona State University, https://www.nasa.gov/, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:LRO_FirstImage.jpg
Tvastarpic2: by NASA/JPL/Galileo, https://www.nasa.gov/, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Tvastarpic2.jpg
WASP-49 b: by NASA Science, https://science.nasa.gov/exoplanet-catalog/wasp-49-b/
Animation is created by Bright Side.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Music from TheSoul Sound: https://thesoul-sound.com/
Check our Bright Side podcast on Spotify and leave a positive review! https://open.spotify.com/show/0hUkPxD34jRLrMrJux4VxV
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For more videos and articles visit:
http://www.brightside.me
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This video is made for entertainment purposes. We do not make any warranties about the completeness, safety and reliability. Any action you take upon the information in this video is strictly at your own risk, and we will not be liable for any damages or losses. It is the viewer's responsibility to use judgement, care and precaution if you plan to replicate.
Category
😹
FunTranscript
00:00The moon's volcanoes are not dormant, and they can erupt any minute.
00:05For years, we lived knowing nothing about it, but now it's officially proven, thanks
00:11to China's Chang'e 5 mission's shocking discovery.
00:14The lunar soil samples it brought back to Earth contained something absolutely unexpected,
00:21hinting that volcanic eruptions may have occurred on the moon as recently as 123 million years
00:28ago.
00:29Logically, that's practically yesterday, but the big question is, are we safe down
00:34here on Earth?
00:35We've long known that the moon was once volcanically active due to the dark regions,
00:41lunar maria, on its surface.
00:44These maria, the dark planes that give the moon its characteristic markings, are ancient
00:49lava flows that date back to around 3 to 3.8 billion years ago.
00:55Until recently, scientists thought that those ancient flows marked the end of the moon's
01:00volcanic activity.
01:02But the Chang'e 5 mission brought back lunar soil that included several microscopic glass
01:08beads, and three of them in particular revealed an extraordinary story.
01:13They formed around 123 million years ago from volcanic eruptions.
01:19An uncertainty range is a mere 15 million years.
01:24The discovery of those tiny beads is super important because of their composition and
01:28rarity.
01:30Measuring between 20 to 400 microns, which is smaller than a grain of sand, these beads
01:36are volcanic in origin.
01:38And this fact sets them apart from most other lunar glass beads, which typically form due
01:44to meteor impacts.
01:46Impact events on the moon create glass by melting surface rock with incredible heat
01:51and pressure.
01:52The result is tiny glass beads scattered all over the landscape.
01:57Yet, the volcanic beads identified in Chang'e 5's sample were formed by magma erupting
02:03from beneath the moon's crust and cooling it into glass as it reached the surface.
02:09By using uranium-lead dating, which measures the decay of uranium into lead within the
02:15beads, scientists managed to pinpoint their age with striking accuracy.
02:21The results suggest that the last known volcanic activity on the moon happened within the past
02:26200 million years, making it a recent event in the moon's long history.
02:33This discovery also aligns with prior observations of unusual surface features known as Irregular
02:40Mare Patches.
02:41Those are smooth mounds surrounded by rocky terrain.
02:45They were first spotted by NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter in 2014.
02:51These patches appear much younger than other lunar features, potentially formed by volcanic
02:56eruptions less than 100 million years ago.
03:00Before Chang'e 5's glass beads, these Irregular Mare Patches were among the best evidence
03:06of recent volcanic activity on the moon.
03:09Yet, without confirmation, their origins remain uncertain.
03:14And now, the glass beads confirm volcanic action.
03:18The findings raise new questions about the moon's inner workings.
03:22In particular, how could it retain enough heat to sustain volcanic eruptions?
03:28We thought that the moon had cooled significantly after its formation 4.5 billion years ago,
03:35which made it volcanically inactive.
03:37And without tectonic activity or an atmosphere, the moon should have shed its internal heat
03:44long ago.
03:45But the beads suggest the possibility of some localized heat sources within the moon's mantle.
03:52Scientists think that heat-producing elements such as potassium and thorium might be creating
03:58small warm pockets which generate enough heat to melt rock and trigger isolated volcanic
04:05eruptions.
04:06But wait!
04:07Beyond rewriting the moon's history, this discovery adds an intriguing twist to ongoing
04:12studies of transient lunar phenomena.
04:16These sightings, often reported as ghostly glows or hazes by amateur astronomers, remain
04:23unconfirmed by scientific probes.
04:26Some experts just dismiss them as illusions caused by Earth's atmosphere.
04:31But if the moon has small pockets of volcanic or outgassing activity, TLP might have a real
04:38basis.
04:39Hazes emitted from beneath the surface could explain such mysterious glows and possibly
04:44be a hint of residual volcanic action on the moon.
04:48Now, if volcanic activity still lingers on the moon, this might have exciting implications
04:54for future lunar missions.
04:56In the coming decades, astronauts might be able to use volcanic heat for generating power,
05:03melting ice into water, or even warming bases built into the frigid lunar surface.
05:09Recent geological discoveries aren't limited to Earth's natural satellite.
05:14We learn more about volcanic moons beyond our solar system, too.
05:18The detection of a possibly volcanic exomoon orbiting exoplanet WASP-49b around 635 light
05:27years away means that volcanic activity may be a common feature among moons.
05:34Up until now, Jupiter's moon, Io, held the title of the most volcanic body we know about.
05:41But researchers at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory may have found a new candidate.
05:47This potential exomoon came to light when scientists observed a cloud of sodium gas
05:53around the exoplanet.
05:55But the thing is, sodium clouds are unusual in planetary atmospheres and can suggest volcanic
06:01activity.
06:02The sodium cloud near WASP-49b had a bizarre, unexpected behavior.
06:08It was moving erratically, shifting size, and occupying a space too large to be explained
06:14by the exoplanet's own atmosphere.
06:18Scientists thought the cloud could actually be generated by a volcanically active exomoon
06:22in orbit around WASP-49b.
06:26Volcanic moons like Io are known to release gases such as sulfur dioxide, sodium, and
06:32potassium, which form massive clouds around their parent planets.
06:37Io, for instance, regularly produces vast amounts of gas that form a cloud encircling
06:43Jupiter up to 1,000 times the size of the gas giant itself.
06:48If something similar occurs near WASP-49b, the gas cloud could be a clue to volcanic
06:55activity on an exomoon orbiting the planet.
06:59Observations from the European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope in Chile seem to confirm
07:05this theory.
07:06The sodium cloud around WASP-49b is positioned high above the exoplanet's atmosphere and
07:13behaves in ways that don't match the exoplanet's 2.8 Earth-day orbit.
07:19This could suggest that it originates from a separate body, likely a volcanically active
07:25moon.
07:26Additionally, WASP-49b and its host star consist primarily of hydrogen and helium, which makes
07:34the sodium cloud even more unusual.
07:37The observed rate of sodium release, over 220,000 pounds per second, can be a sign of
07:44an immensely powerful volcanic source.
07:48If scientists verify the existence of this exomoon, it would be the first discovery of
07:53a volcanic exomoon.
07:56Back in our solar system, Io remains the main space object helping us understand volcanic
08:02moons.
08:03Recently, NASA's Juno spacecraft provided some of the closest images of Io since the
08:09Galileo mission over 25 years ago.
08:13Io's intense volcanic activity is caused by tidal heating.
08:17The result of the gravitational pull of Jupiter and nearby moons like Europa.
08:23This tug-of-war generates immense friction within Io, producing heat that fuels continuous
08:29volcanic eruptions.
08:31One of Juno's most exciting recent findings was a new volcano that appeared just south
08:37of Io's equator.
08:39Juno's images show a large, complex volcanic region approximately 111 by 111 miles in size.
08:48The craziest thing?
08:50It wasn't there when Galileo imaged the same spot in 1997.
08:55This new volcano formed near the previously known volcano Kanahikale.
09:00Researchers say that this new volcanic structure is a great change that highlights the dynamic
09:06nature of Io's surface.
09:09Juno's equatorial region is home to most of its volcanoes because of the concentrated
09:14tidal heating it experiences.
09:16The most powerful eruptions emit sulfurous gases and produce bright lava flows.
09:22They cover the moon in colorful, sulfur-rich deposits.
09:26JunoCam's image, taken from about 1,570 miles away, shows Io dramatically lit by sunlight
09:35reflected off Jupiter.
09:37And you can see a stunning view of its constantly changing volcanic surface.
09:42Despite these detailed observations, there are still many mysteries about Io's volcanism.
09:49Scientists are particularly curious about how tidal heating affects Io's interior and
09:54whether it has a subsurface magma ocean.
09:58Plus, researchers try to understand what triggers different types of eruptions, for example,
10:04plumes versus lava flows, and how volcanic gases shape Io's surface and thin atmosphere.
10:11The study of volcanic moons from Io to the possible exomoon near WASP-49b sheds light
10:18on how tidal forces create volcanic activity in different moons.
10:23In icy moons like Europa, tidal heating sustains liquid oceans beneath the surface, creating
10:30potential habitats for life.
10:32But for Io without an ocean, the same forces instead generate powerful volcanic activity.
10:39Plus, if volcanic exomoons do exist, like the one possibly orbiting WASP-49b, we might
10:47soon discover more volcanic bodies across the galaxy!
10:52That's it for today!
10:53So, hey, if you pacified your curiosity, then give the video a like and share it with your
10:57friends!
10:58Or, if you want more, just click on these videos and stay on the Bright Side!