Latest news with #RyanOgliore
Yahoo
24-06-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Ancient moon volcanoes made tiny glass beads. Here's what they mean.
Tiny glass beads brought back by NASA's Apollo 17 astronauts are helping scientists uncover new clues about how the moon erupted billions of years ago. No one expected these glittering bits among the gray lunar dust back then. The beads, smaller than grains of sand, formed when ancient lunar volcanoes spewed molten rock. That rock quickly cooled and hardened into smooth glass in the cold vacuum of space. Now, using modern tools that weren't available a half-century ago following the mission, researchers have zoomed in closer than ever before to look at what's stuck on the outside of those glass beads. They found a kind of mineral powder — so fine you need microscopes to see it — formed as the beads flew through giant gas clouds during the fiery eruptions. These surface coatings reveal how the environment around the moon's volcanoes changed over time, according to a new study published in the journal Icarus. Instead of just confirming that lunar eruptions happened, the Brown University-led research provides insight into how they played out, layer by layer, crystal by crystal. The findings suggest the moon had a much more dynamic history of volcanoes, with evolving gas chemistry, temperature, and pressure changes, than previously known. "It's like reading the journal of an ancient lunar volcanologist," said Ryan Ogliore, a Washington University in St. Louis professor, in a statement. SEE ALSO: What does a meteorite taste like? Someone found out and bottled it. This is a microscopic view of lunar glass beads, smaller than grains of sand. Credit: Katharine Robinson and G. Jeffrey Taylor / Nature Geoscience 2014 The shimmery beads blasted out of the moon's interior when the moon was still young, about 3.3 to 3.6 billion years ago. As lava shot into the airless sky, it quickly cooled into smooth droplets of glass. Some came out shiny orange; others formed in glossy black. Because of their origins, the beads have colors, shapes, and chemical compositions unlike anything found on Earth. But the very existence of the beads is evidence that the moon had explosive eruptions — akin to the fire fountains seen in Hawaii today, Ogliore said. "The beads are tiny, pristine capsules of the lunar interior," he added. Unlike some older lunar samples, these delicate beads were protected from reacting with Earth's air to avoid contamination. The researchers particularly focused on black glass beads collected from a part of the moon called the Taurus-Littrow Valley, a site on the southeastern edge of the Sea of Serenity, formed after a large object smashed into the moon eons ago. Lava spews out of a lunar volcano, forming glass beads that encounter different conditions based on their trajectories through the volcanic gas cloud. Credit: T.A. Williams et al. / Icarus 2025 diagram The most common mineral found in the coatings was sphalerite, containing zinc, sulfur, and iron. The bottom of the micro-buildup was richer in iron, meaning it likely formed earlier when things were hotter and denser. The upper parts formed later, as things cooled down. The scientists found that the black beads had a lot more of these zinc-and-sulfur minerals on them compared to orange beads analyzed in earlier samples taken from the same area. That difference hints that the gas clouds were thicker or hotter at the time when the black beads formed. To probe the samples, the team used a high-energy ion beam to break apart tiny bits of the material, allowing scientists to measure their chemical makeup. They also used other advanced techniques, such as atom probe tomography and electron microscopy. "We've had these samples for 50 years, but we now have the technology to fully understand them," Ogliore said. "Many of these instruments would have been unimaginable when the beads were first collected."
Yahoo
19-06-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Scientists Investigating Small Orange Objects Coating Surface of the Moon
Over half a century ago, Apollo astronauts encountered something surprising littering the desolate lunar surface: a vast number of tiny orange beads. As Universe Today reports, scientists have long proposed that these beads, each smaller than a grain of sand, date back to over three billion years ago, when volcanic eruptions on the now-inert natural satellite were still commonplace. The theory goes that material launched up by lunar volcanoes would solidify into tiny drops in the freezing vacuum of space, surviving without any erosion or weather for billions of years. Decades later, researchers have now used high-tech microscopic techniques to get a much more detailed look at these tiny orange beads. Using electron microscopy, X-ray spectroscopy, and a host of other techniques, the team found that each glass bead tells a different story, fleshing out a geologically active history rife with violent volcano explosions. "We've had these samples for 50 years, but we now have the technology to fully understand them," said Ryan Ogliore, Washington University professor of physics and coauthor of a paper set to be published in the journal Icarus, in a press release. "Many of these instruments would have been unimaginable when the beads were first collected." Ogliore also found that some of the beads are reminiscent of natural processes that take place on Earth. "The very existence of these beads tells us the Moon had explosive eruptions, something like the fire fountains you can see in Hawaii today," Ogliore said. However, their shape, color, and chemical composition are unsurprisingly completely different thanks to their extraterrestrial origin. The team had to go to great lengths to make these measurements. Since the tiny Apollo samples can easily react with oxygen and other elements in Earth's atmosphere, the researchers had to protect them from air exposure at every step. But thanks to their detailed analysis, the history of our planet's satellite is slowly coming into focus. The research tells a complex story of the Moon's evolution, "like reading the journal of an ancient lunar volcanologist," according to Ogliore. More on the Moon: Scientists Say There's Over a Trillion Dollars of Platinum Waiting to Be Extracted From the Moon's Craters
Yahoo
17-06-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Apollo astronauts discovered the moon is covered in tiny orange glass beads. Now we finally know why.
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. When Apollo astronauts first set foot on the lunar surface, they expected to find grey rocks and dust. What they didn't anticipate was discovering something that looked almost magical: tiny, brilliant orange glass beads scattered across the Moon's landscape like microscopic gems. These beads, each smaller than a grain of sand, are actually ancient time capsules from when the Moon was volcanically active billions of years ago. The beads formed some 3.3 to 3.6 billion years ago during volcanic eruptions on the surface of the then, young satellite. The story of these glass beads begins with explosive volcanic activity that would have been spectacular to witness. The beads formed when lunar volcanoes shot material from the interior to the surface, where each drop of lava solidified instantly in the cold vacuum that surrounds the moon. Picture volcanic eruptions similar to Hawaii's famous lava fountains, but happening in the airless environment of space. Without an atmosphere to slow them down or weather to erode them, these tiny glass spheres have remained pristine for over three billion years. For fifty years, these samples sat in laboratories waiting for technology to catch up with scientific curiosity. "They're some of the most amazing extraterrestrial samples we have, the beads are tiny, pristine capsules of the lunar interior" Ryan Ogliore, an associate professor of physics at Washington University in St. Louis. Now, researchers have finally been able to peer inside the beads using advanced microscopic techniques that didn't exist during the Apollo era. The research team used multiple cutting edge tools including high energy ion beams and electron microscopy to analyse the beads without damaging them. They had to be extremely careful to protect the samples from Earth's atmosphere, which could alter the ancient minerals on their surfaces. What makes these beads so scientifically valuable is that they come in different colours and compositions, telling different chapters of the Moon's volcanic story. Some beads are shiny orange, others are glossy black, and each variety reveals information about different types of eruptions that occurred over millions of years. The minerals and isotopic composition of the bead surfaces serve as probes into the different pressure, temperature and chemical environment of lunar eruptions 3.5 billion years ago. Scientists discovered that the style of volcanic activity changed over time, providing insights into how the Moon's interior evolved. RELATED STORIES —Is the moon still geologically active? Evidence says it's possible —China signs deal with Russia to build a power plant on the moon — potentially leaving the US in the dust —China is sharing priceless moon samples with international partners, but NASA can't be a part of it As Ogliore poetically described it, analyzing these beads is "like reading the journal of an ancient lunar volcanologist." Each tiny sphere contains clues about conditions deep inside the Moon during an era when our solar system was still young and dynamic. These glass beads remind us that the Moon wasn't always the quiet, inactive world we see today. Billions of years ago, it was a geologically active place with explosive volcanoes creating these beautiful, microscopic windows into lunar history that continue to reveal their secrets to modern science. The original version of this article was published on Universe Today.
NDTV
17-06-2025
- Science
- NDTV
Shiny Orange Glass Beads On Reveals Moon's Explosive Past
The Moon is covered with small and shiny glass fragments that range in colour from bright orange to yellow-green. The fascinating bead-like materials were discovered during the Apollo mission and were brought back to Earth along with other Moon samples to study their composition, structure, and formation processes. But scientists have now revealed the mystery behind them. The beads were formed some 3.3 to 3.6 billion years ago and provide insights into the Moon's volcanic history. Their analysis would help scientists understand the geological evolution of our natural satellite. "They're some of the most amazing extraterrestrial samples we have," quoted Ryan Ogliore, an associate professor of physics in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis. "The beads are tiny, pristine capsules of the lunar interior," Ogliore added. This orange glass is a type of volcanic glass found particularly in the Taurus-Littrow valley, where Apollo 17 landed, researchers revealed after studying small details. They used advanced technologies that were not available earlier, such as atom probe tomography, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. "We've had these samples for 50 years, but we now have the technology to fully understand them. Many of these instruments would have been unimaginable when the beads were first collected," Ogliore added. The findings of the study, led by Thomas Williams, Stephen Parman and Alberto Saal from Brown University, were published in Icarus. Each bead is less than 1mm across and contains elements like iron, magnesium and titanium. Scientists revealed that they were formed when magma was ejected during volcanic eruptions and rapidly cooled. "The very existence of these beads tells us the moon had explosive eruptions, something like the fire fountains you can see in Hawaii today," he said.
