ABSTRACT
The (87)Rb-(87)Sr internal isochrons for five rocks yield an age of 3.65 +/-0.05 x 10(9) years which presumably dates the formation of the Sea of Tranquillity. Potassium-argon ages are consistent with this result. The soil has a model age of 4.5 x10(9) years, which is best regarded as the time of initial differentiation of the lunar crust. A peculiar rock fragment from the soil gave a model age of 4.44 x 10(9) years. Relative abundances of alkalis do not suggest differential volatilization. The irradiation history of lunar rocks is inferred from isotopic measurements of gadolinium, vanadium, and cosmogenic rare gases. Spallation xenon spectra exhibit a high and variable (131)Xe/(126)Xe ratio. No evidence for (129)I was found. The isotopic composition of solar-wind xenon is distinct from that of the atmosphere and of the average for carbonaceous chondrites, but the krypton composition appears similar to average carbonaceous chondrite krypton.
ABSTRACT
Silicate aggregates, including large single crystals of potassium feldspar as long as 11 centimeters and sodium feldspar, are embeded in the surface of the medium octahedrite Colomera. Silicate nodules in the interior appear to be much smaller (about 0.3 centimeter). Glass nodules are abundant both on the external surface and in the interior. These observations are evidence that some iron meteorites formed as segregations within a silicate matrix and did not originate in a metallic core.
