Feb 25, 2022 23:00:00

A mysterious 'glass ball' is found on the other side of the moon

The Chinese lunar explorer Yutu-2 has been exploring the underside of the moon for over three years since it landed on the moon on January 3, 2019. Research teams at Sun Yat-

sen University and the Chinese Academy of Sciences have announced that Yutu-2 has discovered a sphere made of translucent glass.

Translucent glass globules on the Moon --ScienceDirect
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S2095927321006964

Lunar Rover Discovers Mysterious Glass Spheres on The Far Side of The Moon
https://www.sciencealert.com/the-moon-has-glass-balls

Since the moon revolves and rotates in synchronization, it always revolves with the same side facing the earth. When we usually look at the moon floating in the night sky, we can see the front side of the moon, and the back side cannot be seen from the earth.

It is said that the far side of the moon is full of craters and bumpy because there is nothing on the moon that prevents meteorites from falling like the Earth's atmosphere. Behind the scenes of the moon, Yutu-2 has been exploring for three years, and as of January 2022, it was reported that the number of shots was more than 1000 and the total mileage reached more than 1000 meters.

Below is a picture of the glass ball that Yutu-2 found on the back of the moon. Both are very small, but you can see that they have a beautiful sphere.

According to the research team, glass itself is not uncommon in the moon, and it can be formed when the silicates and meteorites contained in the sand on the surface of the moon become hot. It seems that it has been discovered many times in terms of surface.

When a meteorite falls on the earth or the moon, it emits intense heat at the time of a collision, the surface of the earth melts, and it may be scattered in the air to make a glass sphere, but such a sphere is very small, Mostly the size is less than 1mm. However, the glass sphere photographed by Yutu-2 this time is a very rare sample with a diameter of about 15 mm to 25 mm.

In the past, Apollo 16 collected a glass ball with a diameter of 40 mm from the surface of the moon. This glass sphere was discovered near the crater and is also believed to have been created by a meteorite impact. However, based on the shape of the glass sphere and the surrounding environment, the research team said, 'The glass sphere discovered this time may have become a translucent sphere due to the volcanic glassy melting in the collision.' I'm guessing.

This time, there are only photographs taken by Yutu-2, and it is not possible to investigate the composition of the glass sphere, but the research team said, 'It is the first time that a translucent glass sphere of visible size has been discovered on the moon surface. Such glass spheres should be abundant in the highlands of the moon, and this study predicts that they will be a promising sample for clarifying the history of the moon. ' I appreciate that it gives great potential to the study of the moon.