The Moon holds countless mysteries waiting to be discovered. Ancient fire fountains on the Moon are now explained by scientists. This revelation leads to further insight on the moon’s early formation and how it relates to our own Earth’s evolution.
What is to Blame for Fire Fountains?
The answer: carbon monoxide. Alberto Saal, a geologist at Brown University in Providence, explains, “The carbon is the one that is producing the large spectacle.” Saal is the co-author of the new study published on Nature Geoscience. New measurements of the volcanic material on the moon’s surface reveal magma flowing deep within the early moon; the magma was steeped in carbon, which combined with oxygen to form carbon monoxide as the it rose. The pressure lessened as it reached the surface, causing an upward explosion of carbon monoxide, according to the study.
How Fire Fountains Relate to the Moon’s Formation
Water is conceivably one of the most important molecules in the solar system. The moon is thought to have formed and evolved similarly to the Earth through a single or series of catastrophic heating events, according to the Department of Geological Sciences at Brown University. It is believed that the lightest element, hydrogen, was lost during the period of the moon’s formation. Researchers have now used advances in secondary ion mass spectrometry to better estimate primitive volcanic chemical contents on the moon’s surface. Results indicate that the post-eruptive moon did include water. This suggests that the early moon’s formation was similar to the Earth’s.
What Does Water on the Moon Have to Do With Fire Fountains?
The mystery of fire fountains on the moon’s surface can be explained through the element hydrogen. Hydrogen is the simplest and most abundant element in the universe. It combines with oxygen to make up water. On Earth, fire fountains can be found in countries like Hawaii where water plays a role in fire fountain explosions. Hydrogen, an explosive gas, combined with carbon and other elements, becomes the perfect ingredient for fire fountains. Hydrogen isotopes in lunar volcanic glasses and melt inclusions reveal a carbon ancestry, according to traces found in material collected from the Moon by the Apollo 15 and 17 missions. The carbon ancestry may explain the driving force behind the moon’s fire fountain explosions.
How Fire Fountains on the Moon Relate to the Earth’s Formation
Bruno Scaillet, a mineralogist at the Insitutute of Earth Sciences of Orleans in France, wrote in a companion article in the journal Nature Geoscience that the detection of carbon and its degassing patterns offer “further evidence that the Earth and moon may share a common volatile source.”
