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KAGUYA observation of global emissions of indigenous carbon ions from the Moon

Carbon is a volatile element that has a considerable influence on the formation and evolution of planetary bodies, although it was previously believed to be depleted in the Moon. We present observations by the lunar orbiter KAGUYA of carbon ions emitted from the Moon. These emissions were distribute...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Yokota, Shoichiro, Terada, Kentaro, Saito, Yoshifumi, Kato, Daiba, Asamura, Kazushi, Nishino, Masaki N., Shimizu, Hisayoshi, Takahashi, Futoshi, Shibuya, Hidetoshi, Matsushima, Masaki, Tsunakawa, Hideo
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: American Association for the Advancement of Science 2020
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7202878/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/32494721
http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.aba1050
Descripción
Sumario:Carbon is a volatile element that has a considerable influence on the formation and evolution of planetary bodies, although it was previously believed to be depleted in the Moon. We present observations by the lunar orbiter KAGUYA of carbon ions emitted from the Moon. These emissions were distributed over almost the total lunar surface, but amounts were differed with respect to lunar geographical areas. The estimated emission fluxes to space were ~5.0 × 10(4) per square centimeter per second, which is greater than possible ongoing supplies from the solar wind and micrometeoroids. Our estimates demonstrate that indigenous carbon exists over the entire Moon, supporting the hypothesis of a carbon-containing Moon, where the carbon was embedded at its formation and/or was transported billions of years ago.