spacetoday.net: Scientists find evidence of relatively recent volcanism on the Moon

Posted: Tue, Oct 14, 2014, 8:01 PM ET (0001 GMT)
Irregular mare patches image from LRO (NASA)

Analysis of images from a NASA telescope have led planetary scientists to conclude that volcanic activity took place on the Moon within the last 100 million years. In a paper published this week in the journal Nature Geoscience, scientists said images of rock deposits called 'irregular mare patches' indicated that they had to form relatively recently, based on the number and age of craters in them. Some of the mare patches likely formed within the last 100 million years, and in some cases potentially within the last 50 million years. The results indicate that the Moon was volcanically active far later in its history than previously thought, and conflicts with models of the Moon's interior that indicate that it should have cooled to the point where volcanic activity was not possible that recently in its history.