www.nytimes.com/2009/01/20/science/space/20moon.html_?r=&ref=science
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
New studies conducted by NASA may suggest that the moon may have not always been a desolate, frozen wasteland. A rock, collected on the first trip to the moon 36 years ago has shown a surprising clue that leads to the conclusion of there once being a volcanic and molten surface. This was concluded when the rock, Troctolite 76535 which is made up of olivine and plagioclase, was found to have a magnetic field. A magnetic field can indicate either, a large collision creating an extreme amount of force and heat, or the constant melting and solidifying of iron. Due to troctolite 76535 being made 300 million years after the moon was made there could have been no cataclysmic collision. Another point of evidence supporting the thought of a volcanic surface and a magnetic field around the moon is that earthquakes have been occurring periodically on the moon. This is due to a molten core heating and congealing under the surface, which causes tremors. The magnetic field generated by the once molten surface and the still molten core lead experts to believe that a magnetic field about a fifteenth as strong as Earth's once existed on the moon.
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2 comments:
1 - good summary
2 - good facts
3 - interesting
1- could explain what a cataclysmic collision is
2- a little confusing & long
1- learned more about the moon and its
3 Things Done Well:
1. The summary described an application of chemistry in conjunction with another field of science - astronomy.
2. The summary did not assume the reader knew much, explaining the connections (such as the importance of a magnetic field) which were necessary to understand the topic.
3. The summary explained the scientists' reasoning behind their conclusion in concise, yet quite understandable terms allowing for the reader to fully understand the subject matter in a short manner of time.
2 Things Needing Improvement:
1. It would have been nice to know how the scientists collected (and retrieved) the rock sample - did it fall to earth or did a robot retrieve it?
2. It would have been nice to be able to read the related article (the link didn't work - not the summary author's fault).
1 New Thing I learned:
1. I did not know that a large collision could result in magnetic polarization.
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