Sample (IMAGE)

Arizona State University

Sample

Caption

This is a photomicrograph of a petrographic thin section of a piece of a coherent, crystalline impact melt breccia collected from landslide material at the base of the South Massif, Apollo 17 (sample 73217, 84). Different mineral and lithic clasts, as well as impact melt phases are evident. Determining the ages of different melt components in such a complex rock requires carefully focused analyses within context of spatial and petrographic information such as this. In their article published in the Feb. 12 issue of Science Advances, Mercer et al. used the laser microprobe 40Ar/39Ar technique to investigate age relationships of three of the distinct generations of impact melt shown in this image.

Credit

Brad Jolliff, Washington University in St. Louis.

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