Editor's Summary
20 December 2007
How old the Moon
A new tungsten isotope study presents revised ages for the formation of the Moon. The Moon is thought to have formed from debris ejected by a giant impact with the early Earth. The high energies involved would have caused melting, and the formation of a lunar magma ocean. Previous work on tungsten isotopes had suggested that the Moon solidified within the first 60 million years of the Solar System. The new data from lunar metals based on the hafnium/tungsten clock are consistent with samarium/neodymium chronometry, and point to a later date for solidification, when the Solar System was 50 to 150 million years old.
News and Views: Planetary science: A younger Moon
The most recent study of lunar rocks indicates that the Moon formed later than previously thought — a conclusion that requires our view of the early history of the inner Solar System to be revised.
Alan Brandon
doi:10.1038/4501169a
Letter: Late formation and prolonged differentiation of the Moon inferred from W isotopes in lunar metals
M. Touboul, T. Kleine, B. Bourdon, H. Palme & R. Wieler
doi:10.1038/nature06428
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