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ScienceAlert

Micrometeorites are the dominant process that creates the Moon's exosphere

ScienceAlert
Summary
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87% Informative

Scientists have discovered the source of the Moon 's thin atmosphere.

Micrometeorites are constantly smacking into the lunar surface, kicking up and vaporizing lunar dust, and releasing atoms into the space around the Moon.

The findings have been published in Science Advances .

If similar processes are taking place elsewhere in the Solar System , asteroids and moons, we could detect them in samples.