The side of the moon we see every night could hide much more warmth than you thought. According to a new study published on Naturethe side of the moon facing the earth would be up to 170 ° C warmer than the opposite side. This was revealed by a mission of NASA that has analyzed in detail the lunar gravity to investigate the interior of our natural satellite. The data collected indicate that the different composition of the cloak It could be the basis of the enormous geological contrast between the two sides of the moon.
The Grail mission reveals that the moon has two faces also inside: the visible side is warmer and more active
We have been knowing for some time that the lunar surface It is divided into two very different hemispheres: on the one hand, the one visible from the Earth, large expanses of solidified lava are observed; On the other, the hidden side – which we never see – is more mountainous, irregular and much less marked by ancient lava flows.
Now, thanks to the mission Grail (Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory) of NASA, a deeper explanation of this dichotomy arrives :. By analyzing the gravitational response of the moon to his orbit, the researchers found that the ability of the lunar coat to deform themselves Change from one hemisphere to another. The side near the earth is more flexible, a sign that it is even hotterabout 100–200 more Kelvin (equivalent up to 170 ° C).
The discovery is the result of the analysis of the data collected by the twin probes EBB and FLOWwho orbited around the Moon to measure changes in the gravitational field with extreme precision.
The origin of the heat? The radioactive elements that modeled the face of the moon 3 billion years ago
But what makes the visible side of the moon so “hot”? According to the researchers, the culprit could be the presence of radioactive elements as Torio and Titaniummore concentrated right on the hemisphere that looks at the earth. These elements would have produced heat through radioactive decaykeeping the cloak warmer and more active over the years. It is this internal energy that may have fueled the ancient volcanic activitynow visible in the form of lunar “seas”, or the large dark expanses that distinguish the face known to us of the satellite.
The study therefore provides one concrete proof of internal asymmetry of the moon, hypothesized for some time but never demonstrated with direct data. And the implications go far beyond our satellite.
One of the most promising aspects of this research is the method itself. The techniques used do not require landing of vehicles on the surface: just orbite around the celestial body to detect its internal structure through gravitational variations.
This approach could be Applied to planets and distant moonslike Mars, Encelado (a Luna di Saturno) or Ganimede (Jupiter’s satellite), providing valuable information about theirs internal composition and on the presence of geothermal activitiesperhaps with implications also in terms of habitability or natural resources.
