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Lunar Magma Ocean Theory, Origins, and Rationale

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Encyclopedia of Lunar Science

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Introduction

The lunar magma ocean (LMO) is a term used in planetary science to describe the thermal state of Earth’s Moon in the thousands to millions of years following its formation. The most widely accepted model for the formation of the Moon invokes a collision between proto-Earth and another proto-planet, often referred to as Theia (e.g., Hartmann and Davis 1975; Cameron and Ward 1976; Pritchard and Stevenson 2000; Canup and Asphaug 2001; Canup 2004, 2012; Ćuk and Stewart 2012). The Moon accreted from the resulting debris disk surrounding the Earth, which likely consisted of molten and vaporized silicate material. The accretion of the Moon from this debris disk leads to a body in a largely or completely molten state. This “magmasphere” is referred to as the LMO (Warren 1985).

The composition of the LMO is likely that of the bulk silicate Moon (BSM) and estimates of its depth have ranged from ~250 km to whole Moon melting (e.g., Taylor and Jakeš 1974; Solomon 1977; Warren 1985;...

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Geophysical Laboratory, Carnegie Institution of Washington, 5251 Broad Branch Rd. NW, 20015, Washington, DC, USA

    Stephen Elardo

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  1. Stephen Elardo
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Correspondence to Stephen Elardo .

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  1. Prairie View A&M University, Houston, Texas, USA

    Brian Cudnik

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Elardo, S. (2015). Lunar Magma Ocean Theory, Origins, and Rationale. In: Cudnik, B. (eds) Encyclopedia of Lunar Science. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-05546-6_25-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-05546-6_25-1

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