The planet Mercury may have had a large, rolling ocean of magma very early in its history after its formation about 4.5 billion years ago, U.S. astronomers say.
Scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have analyzed Mercury's current rocky surface using data from NASA's MESSENGER probe orbiting the planet to partially reconstruct its history over billions of years.
The chemical composition of rock features on the planet's surface suggests a large ocean of liquid magma may have once been present, an MIT release reported Thursday.
MESSENGER identified two distinct compositions of rocks on the planet's surface, scientists said, and experiments suggested only one phenomenon could explain the two compositions: a vast magma ocean that created two different layers of crystals, solidified, then eventually re-melted into magma that then erupted onto Mercury's surface.
"The thing that's really amazing on Mercury is, this didn't happen yesterday," MIT geology Professor Timothy Grove said. "The crust is probably more than 4 billion years old, so this magma ocean is a really ancient feature."
The study has been published in the journal Earth and Planetary Science Letters. (UPI)
Scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have analyzed Mercury's current rocky surface using data from NASA's MESSENGER probe orbiting the planet to partially reconstruct its history over billions of years.
The chemical composition of rock features on the planet's surface suggests a large ocean of liquid magma may have once been present, an MIT release reported Thursday.
MESSENGER identified two distinct compositions of rocks on the planet's surface, scientists said, and experiments suggested only one phenomenon could explain the two compositions: a vast magma ocean that created two different layers of crystals, solidified, then eventually re-melted into magma that then erupted onto Mercury's surface.
"The thing that's really amazing on Mercury is, this didn't happen yesterday," MIT geology Professor Timothy Grove said. "The crust is probably more than 4 billion years old, so this magma ocean is a really ancient feature."
The study has been published in the journal Earth and Planetary Science Letters. (UPI)
<관련 한글 기사>
수성에서 마그마 바다의 가능성이?
약 40, 50억년 전에 마그마 바다가 존재했을 가능성이 있다고 미국의 천문학자들이 말했다.
미국 MIT대학의 과학자들은 수성의 궤도를 도는 NASA의 ‘메신저(MESSENGER)’가 보유하고 있는 데이터를 기반으로 수성의 표면을 분석했다.
수성의 표면에 있는 돌들의 성분을 분석한 결과 행성에 마그마의 바다가 있었을 가능성이 있다고 MIT는 목요일 보도했다.
메신저의 데이터를 분석한 결과, 행성의 표면에 있는 돌의 주된 성분 두 가지를 확인했다. 이 두 가지 성분은 큰 마그마 바다의 두 겹의 크리스탈이 형성되어 굳어 다시 마그마로 녹아 수성의 행성에서 폭발했을 것이라고 밖에 설명이 되지 않는다고 했다.
“정말로 놀라운 사실은 이것이 하루 아침에 일어난 사건이 아니라는 점이다”고 MIT 지질학 교수 티모시 그로브가 말했다. “표층은 아마 약 40억년 전에 형성되었을 것이기 때문에 마그마 바다는 오래 전에 존재했을 것이다.”
이 연구결과는 ‘지구 및 행성과학회보’에 실렸다. (코리아헤럴드)
