olivine – Astronomy Now

Chinese lunar rover’s rock analysis reveals a more diverse Moon

23 December 2015 Astronomy Now

China’s Yutu rover finds volcanic rocks unlike those returned by earlier missions, offering tantalising clues to the period of lunar volcanism that suggest the Moon was never a fully homogenised body like the Earth. The basalts the rover examined are a new type, chemically different from those retrieved by the Apollo and Luna missions 40 years ago.

Mysterious mound near Moon’s south pole formed by unique volcanic process

16 October 2015 Astronomy Now

A giant mound near the Moon’s south pole appears to be a volcanic structure unlike any other found on the lunar surface, according to new research by Brown University geologists. The formation, known as Mafic Mound, stands about 800 metres tall and 75 kilometres (47 miles) across, smack in the middle of a giant impact crater known as the South Pole-Aitken Basin.

Did Earth receive its water from comets, or geologically from within?

21 December 2014 Astronomy Now

Was the Earth dry and inhospitable to life until icy comets pelted the planet and deposited water on the surface? Two researchers at Ohio State University believe that Earth was formed with water in its interior and propose a mechanism for bringing it to the surface.