Translucent glass globules on the Moon  

月球上发现半透明玻璃球

作　　者：Zhiyong Xiao Pan Yan Bo Wu Chunyu Ding Yuan Li Yiren Chang Rui Xu Yunhua Wu Yichen Wang Yizhen Ma Jun Cui 肖智勇;闫盼;吴波;丁春雨;李媛;常伊人;许睿;吴蕴华;王一尘;马毅臻;崔峻(Planetary Environmental and Astrobiological Research Laboratory,School of Atmospheric Sciences,Sun Yat-sen University,Zhuhai 519000,China;Center for Excellence in Comparative Planetology,Chinese Academy of Sciences,Hefei 230026,China;Department of Land Surveying and Geo-Informatics,Hong Kong Polytechnic University,Hong Kong,China;Department of Earth and Space Sciences,Southern University of Science and Technology,Shenzhen 518055,China;School of Geospatial Engineering and Science,Sun Yat-sen University,Zhuhai 519082,China;Shanghai Key Laboratory for Astrophysics,Shanghai Normal University,Shanghai 200233,China;School of Earth Sciences,China University of Geosciences(Wuhan),Wuhan 430074,China)

机构地区：[1]Planetary Environmental and Astrobiological Research Laboratory,School of Atmospheric Sciences,Sun Yat-sen University,Zhuhai 519000,China [2]Center for Excellence in Comparative Planetology,Chinese Academy of Sciences,Hefei 230026,China [3]Department of Land Surveying and Geo-Informatics,Hong Kong Polytechnic University,Hong Kong,China [4]Department of Earth and Space Sciences,Southern University of Science and Technology,Shenzhen 518055,China [5]School of Geospatial Engineering and Science,Sun Yat-sen University,Zhuhai 519082,China [6]Shanghai Key Laboratory for Astrophysics,Shanghai Normal University,Shanghai 200233,China [7]School of Earth Sciences,China University of Geosciences(Wuhan),Wuhan 430074,China

出　　处：《Science Bulletin》2022年第4期355-358,M0003,共5页科学通报（英文版）

基　　金：supported by the Strategic Priority Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences(XDB41000000);the Pre-research Project on Civil Aerospace Technologies(D020101,D020202)of China National Space Administration;the National Natural Science Foundation of China(41773063);the Key Research Program of Frontier Sciences,Chinese Academy of Sciences(QYZDY-SSWDQC028);the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities。

摘　　要：Glass is ubiquitous in lunar regolith,and volcanism and hypervelocity impacts are the major mechanisms of forming lunar glasses.Volcanic glasses on the Moon occur as quenched skin of basaltic rocks or as glass spherules in pyroclastic deposits.Lunar volcanic glass spherules are less than 1 mm in diameters,and most are less than 300μm[1].Impact glasses on the Moon are formed by cooling of impact melt and/or condensation of impact vapor,and impact glass spherules have rotational shapes,smooth surfaces,and largely clast-free interiors[2].Recognized impact glass spherules on the Moon are dominantly sub-millimeter in sizes,and few are up to~8 mm in diameter[3].Glass spherules record important information about the mantle composition and the history of lunar volcanism and impact cratering[4].Transparent and translucent glasses on the Moon are less than 1 mm in diameters,and larger ones are dark and opaque[5].Hitherto discovered macro-sized glass globules on the Moon(up to~4 cm in diameter)are opaque impact glass(Fig.1a,b)that usually contains hollows and lithic clasts[6].利用嫦娥四号月球探测任务玉兔二号月球车获取的全景相机数据,在巡视路线上附近发现了数粒直径达2.5 cm的半透明玻璃球.这是首次在月球上发现手标本尺度大小的透明玻璃球.区域地质研究和撞击破碎模型对比表明这些玻璃球不是火山玻璃或降落至月面的陨石,而是形成在月球上的撞击玻璃.对比典型的月球岩石的化学成分及其熔体在冷凝时成核结晶的临界降温速率,发现月球玄武岩和其他富铁的岩石不是形成这些撞击玻璃的原岩.斜长岩熔体的临界降温速率极低,在月球环境下冷凝时足以形成直径高达5 cm的透明/半透明玻璃球.基于高能远撞击玻璃的成因机理,结合嫦娥四号着陆点附近1 km/s的上限弹道溅射距离中的矿物和元素含量数据,发现很多撞击事件足以形成此类撞击玻璃.这些撞击玻璃记录了重要的撞击过程和早期撞击历史的信息,是未来月球探测的重要采样目标.

关 键 词：半透明玻璃 火山玻璃 全景相机 月球探测 撞击事件 月球环境 斜长岩 着陆点 

分 类 号：P184.5[天文地球—天文学] V476.3[航空宇航科学与技术—飞行器设计]