For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now.
Romans 1:22
"The moon loses more water than it receives from the solar wind or meteorites. How long has that been going on?
Data analyzed from the LADEE mission, which orbited the moon 2013-2014 measuring the thin lunar atmosphere, has revealed
something interesting: meteor impacts blast water out of the deep soil, where most of it is lost to space, never to return. Water? Yes; the moon has some. Lunar soil is drier than any soil on Earth, but it does retain some H2O and OH– (hydroxyl) ions, which chemists designate as water. Some water molecules can form from reactions with the solar wind.
There’s more water three inches down (the “hydrated layer”) than in the top portion (“dessicated layer”) of regolith (lunar soil that has been “gardened” by small meteorites), so only larger meteors penetrate where the water is.
Nevertheless, water escape is a continuous process: When a stream of meteoroids rains down on the lunar surface, the liberated water will enter the exosphere and spread through it. About two-thirds of that vapor escapes into space, but about one-third lands back on the surface of the Moon.
Not enough water can be made by the solar wind, the researchers state, meaning that most of it must have already been there since the moon’s formation, or was delivered by impactors:
In short, the moon is losing its tenuous water faster than it is receiving it or making it. Has this been the case for the moon’s history?"
CEH
Romans 1:22
"The moon loses more water than it receives from the solar wind or meteorites. How long has that been going on?
Data analyzed from the LADEE mission, which orbited the moon 2013-2014 measuring the thin lunar atmosphere, has revealed
There’s more water three inches down (the “hydrated layer”) than in the top portion (“dessicated layer”) of regolith (lunar soil that has been “gardened” by small meteorites), so only larger meteors penetrate where the water is.
Nevertheless, water escape is a continuous process: When a stream of meteoroids rains down on the lunar surface, the liberated water will enter the exosphere and spread through it. About two-thirds of that vapor escapes into space, but about one-third lands back on the surface of the Moon.
Not enough water can be made by the solar wind, the researchers state, meaning that most of it must have already been there since the moon’s formation, or was delivered by impactors:
“We know that some of the water must be coming from the Moon, because the mass of water being released is greater than the water mass within the meteoroids coming in,” said the second author of the paper, Dana Hurley of the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory.The figure caption says, “in order to sustain the water loss from meteoroid impacts, the hydrated layer requires replenishment from a deeper ancient water reservoir.”
The analysis indicates that meteoroid impacts release water faster than it can be produced from reactions that occur when the solar wind hits the lunar surface.
“The water being lost is likely ancient, either dating back to the formation of the Moon or deposited early in its history,” said Benna.
In short, the moon is losing its tenuous water faster than it is receiving it or making it. Has this been the case for the moon’s history?"
CEH