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On the hidden side of the Moon, there is a huge metallic mass.
A mysterious discovery has refocused the attention of astronomers and geologists on a geographical feature on the dark side of the Moon. Since then, a team from Baylor University, Texas, in the United States, has just detected that there is something huge in the Aitken Basin more than 200 kilometers from the surface.
Experts have found a huge mass of buried metal. Astronomers still do not know for sure why it is so deeply sunk into the lunar surface. However, it could be the remains of a heavy nickel and iron asteroid that hit this part of the moon to form the basin about 4 million years ago.
The structure of the metal mass is 2.18 × 10 000 000 000 000 000 000 kg.
"Imagine making a stack of metal five times larger than the Big Island of Hawaii and burying it beneath the surface – that's about the amount of mass we unexpectedly detected," Peter said. B. James, the main author of the study.
Another possible theory is that its formation is due to a complex process of cooling and subsequent solidification of the ancient ocean of magma in the final stages of the formation of this natural satellite.
"The Aitken Basin is one of the best natural laboratories for studying catastrophic impacts. It's an ancient process that has shaped all the planets and rocky moons we see today, "James added.
This basin is not visible to humans as it is located on the far side of the moon.
This mass was discovered thanks to the data compiled by NASA's "GRAIL" mission. This important discovery was published in the journal Geophysical Research Letters.
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