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Uranium found on the Moon

Posted June 30, 2009 8:16 AM

From Discover Magazine | RSS:

Scientists using data from the recently-Moon-smacked Kaguya spacecraft have found evidence of radioactive elements on the lunar surface, including, for the first time, uranium! That's pretty cool. It's a little unexpected to me, too. One of the key aspects of the Moon is that it's not as dense as the Earth — in fact, it's just a bit more than half the Earth's density — so you don't expect it to have a lot of denser materials.

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#1

Re: Uranium found on the Moon

06/30/2009 5:48 PM

The density of a planet is due in large part to its gravity. The higher the gravity, the denser will be the material in the planet. Since we know that the moon probably resulted from a collision between the Earth and Theia, it's only natural that the moon have the same elements as the earth, and at 1/6th the gravity, be much less densely packed.

Now, where's the adamantium?

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#2
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Re: Uranium found on the Moon

06/30/2009 9:54 PM

I thought it was the other way around; density determines gravity.

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#3
In reply to #2

Re: Uranium found on the Moon

06/30/2009 11:23 PM

Hero,

My impression was that for a space borne object it would be more like a snowball effect...

A little mass has a small gravity field and attracts more mass, initially this creates a Medium mass, low density body, and larger gravity field.

Eventually the mass must start acting on itself and compress, thus the density will increase as volume decreases for the same mass, the gravity field will not change unless more mass is added.

As mass is again added due to the larger gravity field in conjunction with the reduced volume, density is increased, and therefore with more mass at a higher density the gravitational field will increase and so on attracting more mass.....

Just a thought..

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Sapper

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#8
In reply to #2

Re: Uranium found on the Moon

07/01/2009 9:48 AM

Mass determines both.

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#7
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Re: Uranium found on the Moon

07/01/2009 8:20 AM

As far as I know only Wolverine has a source for that.

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#9
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Re: Uranium found on the Moon

07/01/2009 8:34 PM

Right below the unobtanium.

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#4

Re: Uranium found on the Moon

07/01/2009 1:59 AM

How about a Uranium Rush to the Moon in 2049. The new 49ers.

The moon is a lop-sided chunk orbiting our planet and like the other fellow said, it probably came from Earth which was also lop-sided but because it is more dynamic than the moon it has been making adjustments.

The moon only shows us one side because the face we see is the heavier side that has been captured by Earth's gravity. Also the moon is very very slowly being dragged by Earth's gravitational force to take a fixed position in the sky. Imagine no moonrise or moonset! No lunar tides. All the moon phases in one day. Maybe even a daily eclipse at lunch time where the moon is straight overhead.

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#6
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Re: Uranium found on the Moon

07/01/2009 7:19 AM

Fill in blank possible choices are;

India, Iraq, Iran, South Korea, Pakistan and San Palo, California

What about Iraq's Uranium enrichment programs they have going on up there for their WMD's

You didn't know that did you.

I think we should form a unilateral multi-national coalition and invade.

phoenix911

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#10
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Re: Uranium found on the Moon

07/02/2009 12:14 AM

Those clandestine activities on the backside of the moon?

You can hide a lot of stuff there.

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#11
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Re: Uranium found on the Moon

07/02/2009 9:06 AM

BACKSIDE OF MOON.....make note...bring flashlight

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#12
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Re: Uranium found on the Moon

07/02/2009 9:27 AM

Not necessary. It gets just as much sunlight as the front side.

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#13
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Re: Uranium found on the Moon

07/02/2009 9:51 AM

Does Hans Blix know that?

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#14
In reply to #11

Re: Uranium found on the Moon

07/02/2009 4:02 PM

Backside of moon has same illumination cycles as the side we see.

Butt then you were making a joke, right?

I wonder why Bankii didn't catch that.

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#16
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Re: Uranium found on the Moon

07/03/2009 12:54 PM

I sure he did.............but I can't believe the number of responses for forming a coalition to invade..........another joke.............not much of a joke when you have to tell people its a joke.......diffently off topic....good thing theres not a law against bad humor

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#5

Re: Uranium found on the Moon

07/01/2009 4:26 AM

So that's why NASA wants to go back!

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#18
In reply to #5

Re: Uranium found on the Moon

07/06/2009 8:41 AM

By 2050, they will surely have found a way to stabilise nuclear fusion and they will not need hyper radioactive uranium anymore ;)

Though I heard they have found tritium as well on the moon...

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#15

Re: Uranium found on the Moon

07/02/2009 4:18 PM

Stuff sent into space is, more often than not, powered by Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generators. If the isotope was released on impact and looks like Uraniuim on the sensors what would the later prosectors do? Doh!

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#17
In reply to #15

Re: Uranium found on the Moon

07/03/2009 4:55 PM

prospectors

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