The Einstein Probe X-ray astronomical satellite transmitted X-ray images of the moon back to Earth on Tuesday, which was Mid-Autumn Festival. [Photo/Xinhua]
The Einstein Probe X-ray astronomical satellite transmitted X-ray images of the moon back to Earth on Tuesday, which was Mid-Autumn Festival.
This marks the first time that Chinese scientists have obtained a complete X-ray image of the moon using a self-developed space telescope.
X-ray fluorescence radiation generated by lunar elements excited by X-rays from the Sun can reveal the distribution of various elements on the lunar surface, said Chen Yong, a researcher at the Institute of High Energy Physics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
Since the X-ray characteristic energies of different elements are distinct, studying X-ray images of different energies on the lunar surface can uncover the presence of multiple elements. However, this X-ray radiation cannot penetrate the Earth's atmosphere.
As a result, scientists typically utilize specialized X-ray satellites for observations outside the atmosphere, he added.
This year's Mid-Autumn Festival fell when the moon was near its perigee in the Earth-moon orbit, so the moon appeared about 14 percent larger than a typical full moon and shined brighter, earning it the title of "supermoon". This presented a great opportunity for astronomical observations.
In another lunar-related development on Tuesday, Chinese scientists revealed the nature of the lunar farside samples returned by the Chang'e 6 mission in a paper published in the National Science Review, illustrating how it exhibits distinct characteristics compared with previous lunar samples.
Researchers prepare to weigh Chang'e 6 lunar samples during a returner opening ceremony at the China Academy of Space Technology under the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation in Beijing, June 26, 2024. [Photo/Xinhua]
The Chang'e 6 lunar probe in June took 1,935.3 grams of soil samples from the South Pole-Aitken basin, the largest, deepest and oldest impact basin on the moon, marking the first time that scientists collected samples from the far side of the moon.
The samples returned by the Chang'e 6 provided direct evidence for studying the early evolution of the moon, farside volcanic activity and impact history, according to the paper's authors.
The study was co-authored by a team led by Li Chunlai from the National Astronomical Observatories of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hu Hao from the China Lunar Exploration and Space Engineering Center of the China National Space Administration, and Yang Mengfei, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
The researchers examined the physical, mineralogical, petrographic and geochemical properties of the lunar samples from Chang'e 6, and found that the soil has a lower bulk density and true density compared with Chang'e 5 samples, which were collected from the moon's nearside. This indicates a looser structure with higher porosity.
The study also found that Chang'e 6 soil is a mixture of local basalts and nonbasalts, and contains diverse lithic fragments, including local mare basalt, breccia, agglutinate, glasses and leucocrate.
"These local mare basalts document the volcanism history of the lunar farside, while the nonbasaltic fragments may offer critical insights into the lunar highland crust, South Pole-Aitken impact melts, and potentially the deep lunar mantle, making these samples highly significant for scientific research," the study said.
Soil samples collected from six Apollo missions, three Luna missions and the Chang'e 5 mission have been essential to learning about the moon, and with the new findings, scientists have gained a greater understanding of the moon's evolutionary history.
For example, the study of Chang'e 5 lunar samples has indicated that magmatic activity existed until 2 billion years ago, challenging the prevailing understanding from the Apollo missions, which suggested that lunar magmatism ceased 3 billion years ago, according to the paper.
Through further in-depth research on these precious samples, there is potential to deepen people's understanding of the internal structure, material composition, and formation and evolution processes of the moon, thereby advancing the vibrant development of lunar and planetary science, according to the research team.
中新经纬1月11日电 “上海市场监管”微信号11日消息，宜家召回3008件USB充电器。 上海市市场监管局称，宜家(中国)投资有限公司自2024年1月10日至2024年4月9日召回2020年4月至2023年12月生产的宜家牌ASKSTORM 奥斯 春节假期武铁发送旅客511万人次 中新网武汉2月18日电 (记者 张芹)记者18日从中国铁路武汉局集团有限公司(以下简称“武铁”)获悉，2024年春节假期，武铁共发送旅客511万人次。1月26日至2月17日，武铁共发送旅客1273. 平台数据显示春节中国游客足迹遍布全球1700多个城市 中新社北京2月17日电 (记者 刘亮)中国在线旅游平台去哪儿17日发布的数据显示，今年春节假期中国游客足迹遍布全球115个国家，覆盖全球1754个城市。 据去哪儿 2024年春节档票房创中国影史新高 中新社北京2月17日电 (记者 高凯)据灯塔专业版数据，截至北京时间2月17日13时50分，2024年春节档总票房达78.44亿元(人民币，下同)，超过2021年春节档(78.43亿元)，打破中国影史春节档票 为降低新一轮低温雨雪冰冻天气对农业生产带来的影响，湖北省沙洋县农业农村局组织技术服务指导组深入田间地头，重点围绕蔬菜大棚、油菜等主打产业，开展防冻避灾、病虫防控等全程技术指导服务，最大限度减少 独家 | 库迪咖啡回应闭店：自开业以来总共闭店解约门店数为61家 2月22日每经快讯，自去年末起，不断有库迪联营商在小红书等社交媒体上发帖称库迪出现供应链问题、品牌现金流疑似出现危机，称有很多库迪联营商正在撤离 。本文链接：X-ray images, lunar farside soil shed more light on moonhttp://www.sushuapos.com/show-5-27522-0.html
声明：本网站为非营利性网站，本网页内容由互联网博主自发贡献，不代表本站观点，本站不承担任何法律责任。天上不会到馅饼，请大家谨防诈骗！若有侵权等问题请及时与本网联系，我们将在第一时间删除处理。
上一篇： 跟着秋天 去新疆