Going back 4000 years, new research points out that the moon's "age" is 4.46 billion years old.

CTOnews.com, October 24 (Xinhua) the current consensus among astronomical experts on the "age" of the moon is 4.42 billion years old, fluctuating up and down 1000 years. But based on crystal samples taken from the moon half a century ago, scientists trace the moon's age back 4000 million years, with an estimated "age" of 4.46 billion years.

The moon was formed more than 4 billion years ago, when a Mars-sized celestial body collided with the original Earth. The material produced in the collision came together to form the moon, which shaped all aspects of life on Earth, from the tides to the rhythm of animal behavior.

Zircon crystals were successfully collected during the Apollo 17 mission in 1972, and researchers recently dated them again to determine the time of the formation of the moon.

The researchers used atomic probe tomography to study the distribution of lead atoms in recycled zircon crystals. Similar to other ancient dating methods, the researchers used the radioactive decay rate of atoms to reverse the clock and determine when the lunar magma ocean cooled.

The team found that zircon crystals are at least 4.46 billion years old, 4000 years earlier than previous estimates. This may be a blink of an eye for cosmic time, but it is a useful fine-tuning of the lunar timeline.

CTOnews.com attached the address of the paper [PDF]. Interested users can click to read it.