Moon gets younger age estimate

Guest post by Christopher Crockett

The moon may have formed about 95 million years after the birth of the solar system, up to 70 million years later than some scientists previously predicted. That makes the moon about 4,470 million years old.

Researchers derived the later date by combining simulations of the early solar system with abundances of iron-loving elements in the Earth’s crust, which must have arrived after the collision that formed the moon.

The later date may provide astronomers with insight into the environment of the early solar system. The new model, presented in the April 3 Nature, could also help researchers resolve differences in other dating techniques that rely on radiometric clocks.