. GPS News .




.
MOON DAILY
Rare Moon mineral found in Australia
by Staff Writers
Sydney (AFP) Jan 5, 2012


A mineral brought back to Earth by the first men on the Moon and long thought to be unique to the lunar surface has been found in Australian rocks more than one billion years old, scientists said Thursday.

Named after Apollo 11's 1969 landing site at the Sea of Tranquility, tranquillityite was one of three minerals first discovered in rocks from the Moon and the only one not to be found, in subsequent years, on Earth.

Australian scientist Birger Rasmussen said tranquillityite had "long been considered as the Moon's own mineral" until geologists discovered it, by chance, in rock from resources-rich Western Australia.

"In over 40 years it hadn't been found in any terrestrial samples," Rasmussen, from Curtin University, told AFP.

When the Moon samples first came back Rasmussen said they were considered to be "extremely precious" and had been subjected to intense, detailed study when -- ironically -- their contents were "right here all the time."

"They were always part of Earth, they haven't come from the Moon," he said of his work on the discovery, published in the journal Geology.

"It tells you that broadly overall you have similar chemistries and similar processes operating on the Moon as on Earth."

As well as being "quirky and surprising" Rasmussen said the discovery also had important practical applications, with the mineral proving to be an excellent dating tool which had allowed scientists to pin down the rocks' age.

"We used this mineral ... to date the dolerite which has previously been undated, so that helped us understand the geological history," he said.

They were 1.07 billion years old, more ancient than rocks in the area had previously been thought to be, and Rasmussen said tranquillityite would be useful in dating similar rocks in the future.

"I think it will be a lot more widespread than just the six locations we've found it so far," he added of the rare mineral.

Related Links
Mars News and Information at MarsDaily.com
Lunar Dreams and more




.
.
Get Our Free Newsletters Via Email
...
Buy Advertising Editorial Enquiries






.

. Comment on this article via your Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, Hotmail login.

Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle



MOON DAILY
Ecliptic Shoots for Moon at End of a Record Year
Pasadena CA (SPX) Jan 05, 2012
The year 2011 was a record year of launch activity for Ecliptic Enterprises Corporation and its RocketCam product family, with a total of 17 RocketCam systems successfully launched-12 onboard various rockets and 4 onboard various spacecraft. The firm closed out the year celebrating the successful Lunar Orbit Insertion maneuvers executed by the twin NASA GRAIL spacecraft, each of which carr ... read more


MOON DAILY
World's 'most expensive' tea grown in Chinese panda poo

Scientists Refute Greenpeace Claims About GM Corn

UF research on newly formed plants could lead to improved crop fertility

Paraguay emergency tackles cattle crisis

MOON DAILY
Relay race with single atoms: New ways of manipulating matter

Tiny wires could usher new computer era

Stanford engineers achieve record conductivity in strained lattice organic semiconductor

New technique makes it easier to etch semiconductors

MOON DAILY
Slovenian adventurer embarks on eco-friendly world trip

Airbus agrees A380 deal with Hong Kong Airlines: reports

Chinese carriers won't pay EU carbon charge: group

Boeing's Wichita plant closure costs jobs

MOON DAILY
German carmakers buoyed by boost in US sales

Honda to boost exports of US-made vehicles

GM posts record China sales in 2011

Rolls-Royce posts record car sales on China, US demand

MOON DAILY
Europe steelmakers file complaints against China

Global tech sales to surpass $1 tn in 2012: forecast

US extends Grand Canyon mining ban for 20 years

China's Hu orders party to fight against corruption

MOON DAILY
African rainforests said to be resilient

Guyana, Germany ink deal to protect Amazon

In Romania, a pledge to shield bastion of Europe's forests

The case of the dying aspens

MOON DAILY
Astro Aerospace Completes CDA of Reflector Boom Assembly for SMAP Mission

Ice data at your fingertips

TRMM Satellite Measured Washi's Deadly Rainfall

First ever direct measurement of the Earth's rotation

MOON DAILY
VW nears number one ranking with 8 mn sales

Graphene grows better on certain copper crystals

New method of growing high-quality graphene promising for next-gen technology

Giant flakes make graphene oxide gel


.

The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2012 - Space Media Network. AFP and UPI Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse and United Press International. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. Privacy Statement