Mars is called the Red Planet because its surface soil appears red. Now a surprising thing is happening. This is the reddening of the Moon, that is, the rusting of the Moon. Scientists expressed their surprise and explained that this is a very interesting development. Why does the moon turn red? What is the rusting of the moon? Is it possible for the moon to rust? Shall we call it the Red Moon now? The latest Moon studies and answers to questions are here.
What is the rusting of the moon?
The Moon is slowly starting to turn red, and could it be because of Earth? How does Earth’s atmosphere affect the rusting of the Moon? Shouldn’t there be oxygen for rusting?
Although not every celestial body is suitable for rusting, it is not normal for it to occur in arid or even in places with no atmosphere such as the moon.
Before we get into the rusting of the Moon, let’s take a brief look at how rust is formed. Rust, that is, iron oxide is a reddish compound that appears when the element iron meets water and oxygen. We can easily see rust on metal surfaces such as screws, wires, and doors, and we can see rust even further away on Mars.
We call it the Red Planet because the iron found in the soil of Mars a long time ago reacted with oxygen and water, causing the oxidation of the iron particles on it. But it is not normal to say this for the Moon. Because there is no oxygen for oxidation and it is not possible to find oxygen except in the frozen glaciers in the craters.
The situation is puzzling, and it takes elements like oxygen to rust, says Shuai Li, an assistant researcher at the Manoa Institute of Geophysics and Planetology at the University of Hawaii. So how can this be?
Top of the list among the properties of the Moon: The Moon has no Atmosphere
Earth can protect itself when solar winds blow because it has an atmosphere. But how will the Moon protect itself? Unfortunately, this is not possible as the Moon has no atmosphere. But very little Oxygen goes from the Earth to the Moon. Oxygen is carried by the magnetic tail from the Earth to the side of the Moon facing us.
Solar winds from the Sun hit the ground with hydrogen molecules in it, and this side of the Moon has hematite (a form of iron oxide). What’s more, at every full moon, the magnetic tail can block 99 percent of the solar winds and temporarily cover the Moon like a protective shield. During this time, rust may form on the surface.
But there still needs to be one more vital component for rust to form
Except for the frozen water found in craters on the far side of the Moon, there’s no water on the Moon, and it’s far from where most of the hematites are found in the ice,
However, the researchers suggest that fast dust particles hitting the Moon may have brought water molecules trapped in its surface layer to the surface, causing the water to mix with the iron. These dust particles may even be carrying water molecules on them, and the heat generated by their impact may increase the rate of oxidation.
This event shows that it will be the beginning of different researches about the Moon. Lunar exploration continues to increase.