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Tiny orange beads found by Apollo astronauts reveal Moon's explosive past
When Apollo astronauts stumbled across shimmering orange beads on the moon, they had no idea they were gazing at ancient relics of violent volcanic activity. These glass spheres, tiny yet mesmerizing, formed billions of years ago during fiery eruptions that launched molten droplets skyward, instantly freezing in space. Now, using advanced instruments that didn't exist in the 1970s, scientists have examined the beads in unprecedented detail. The result is a remarkable window into the moon s dynamic geological history, revealing how eruption styles evolved and how lunar conditions once mirrored explosive events we see on Earth today.
Date: June 16, 2025 Source: Washington University in St. Louis Summary: When Apollo astronauts stumbled across shimmering orange beads on the moon, they had no idea they were gazing at ancient relics of violent volcanic activity. The beads -- some shiny orange, some glossy black -- formed when lunar volcanoes shot material from the interior to the surface, where each drop of lava solidified instantly in the cold vacuum that surrounds the moon. The minerals (including zinc sulfides) and isotopic composition of the bead surfaces serve as probes into the different pressure, temperature and chemical environment of lunar eruptions 3.5 billion years ago.
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