X-ray specs
To get an insight into how the Moon was formed, UK scientists have built a toaster-sized instrument that uses special X-ray vision to identify quantities of key chemical elements.
If the Moon was really formed by an asteroid collision, its crust should contain a lower proportion of iron than the Earth's. This is because the heavy iron would have already sunk to the centre of the molten Earth, so couldn't fly off and form the Moon. The X-ray instrument will look for telltale signatures.
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Not your average toaster...
Image: PPARC |
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