Scientists named the probable reason for the formation of ice on the moon
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A new study by scientist Shuai Li of the University of Hawaii at Manoa shows that waves of electrons coming from the Earth and the Sun contribute to the formation of frozen water on the surface of the Moon. These electrons hit the Moon when it passes through Earth’s magnetic tail, which our planet leaves behind as it moves through space, Sciencealert reports. Inside the tail is a plasma layer consisting of highly charged electrons and ions derived from the Earth’s atmosphere and radiation from the solar wind. Planetary scientist Shuai Li of the University of Hawaii at Manoa says that when the Moon is outside the magnetotail, the lunar surface is “bombarded” by the solar wind. (Valeriano Antonini/500px/Getty Images) “There are almost no protons in the solar wind inside the tail, and water formation is expected to drop to almost zero,” he says. However, remote analysis shows that this is not the case. Earlier studies indicated that hydrogen ions from the solar wind generated water on the Moon, but this water appears to still form when the lunar surface is shielded from the solar wind, inside the magnetotail. According to the researchers, other forces are at work here, namely electrons. One way they work is through the reaction of high-energy electrons with the lunar soil, which releases trapped hydrogen from which water can form. “There may be additional formation processes or new sources of water in the magnetotail that are not directly related to the implantation of solar wind protons,” Lee says. Further observations and experiments on the lunar surface will be needed to find out this in more detail. “Overall, this discovery indicates that mother Earth is intimately connected to its moon in many unrecognized ways,” says Lee. Read also: 371 days above the Earth: an astronaut spent more than a year in space and became a new US record holder
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