Rare silicate volcanoes discovered on Moon
BEIJING. July 28. KAZINFORM Silicate volcanoes have been discovered on the dark side of the moon by NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, media reported Thursday. Kazinform refers to Xinhua.
Silicate volcanoes do not ooze magma, deeming them "dead" by scientists.
Other basaltic or active volcanoes have been found on the moon's surface in the past.
"Most of the volcanic activity on the moon was basaltic," said primary author Brad Joliff of Washington University. "Finding other volcanic types is interesting as it shows the geologic complexity and range of processes that operate on the moon, and how the moons volcanism changed with time."
Joliff also noted that the silicate volcanoes on the far side of the moon are estimated to be around 800 years old, extending the volcanic activity of the moon by 200 million years.
According to research compiled by the journal Nature Geoscience, the moon's far side was not visible from the Earth due to tidal forces between it and the moon. Until 1959, the Soviet Union's Luna 3 Spacecraft took pictures of the region.
The silicate rocks and thorium discovered in this region implied a more complicated type of volcanic activity on the Moon. kazinform cites Xinhua. See www.xinhuanet.com