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First Word On Results From GRAIL, NASA's Moon Gravity Mission

An anonymous reader writes "Nature has advance word on the first science results from GRAIL, NASA's twin probes launched a year ago which are mapping the gravity of the Moon from lunar orbit. This is coming out in advance of any official publication or NASA release, so the data isn't available, but the story trails what the PI Maria Zuber told a Harvard CFA colloquium last week are some of the team's key scientific findings: including that the Moon's crust is substantially thinner than once thought; and some of the more speculative impact basins haven't been confirmed."

21 of 40 comments (clear)

  1. thin crust by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Hmm, so the inside of the moon is softer?

    1. Re:thin crust by Eraesr · · Score: 4, Funny

      What more proof do you need that it's made of cheese, eh?

    2. Re:thin crust by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      The cheese?

    3. Re:thin crust by flappinbooger · · Score: 1

      What more proof do you need that it's made of cheese, eh?

      Everyone knows the moon is hollow:

      https://www.google.com/search?q=hollow+moon+theory

      Duh... ;-p

      --
      Flappinbooger isn't my real name
    4. Re:thin crust by Lumpy · · Score: 1

      Not cheese.... Chewy Nougat.

      --
      Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
    5. Re:thin crust by Chris+Burke · · Score: 1

      I'm so disappointed the top link isn't to the Superfriends episode where a space monster hatches out of the moon. :(

      --

      The enemies of Democracy are
  2. Thin Crust?! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Aha! I knew it! "Thin Crust" -- The moon's not made of cheese it's a Pizza!

    1. Re:Thin Crust?! by eriqk · · Score: 1

      It was foretold.
      "When the moon hits your eye like a big pizza pie..."

  3. Map this place from orbit. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    It's the only way to make sure.

    1. Re:Map this place from orbit. by hattig · · Score: 1

      A magnetic anomaly, buried in a crater on the far side of the moon?

    2. Re:Map this place from orbit. by FTWinston · · Score: 1

      Nearside. The clue's in its name.

  4. Re:Data is plural. by osu-neko · · Score: 2

    Non-oblig. comic ref.

    That said, I think "data" counts as a "non-count" noun in its typical modern usage. Like "information", or "water", or "peanut butter", it may be composed of many individual bits, but it's talked about as a blob, not as a large number of individual bits.

    --
    "Convictions are more dangerous enemies of truth than lies."
  5. Radical opinion here. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

    the Moon's crust is substantially thinner than once thought;

    The Moon is really cheese cake - cheese doesn't have a crust but cheese cake does.

    If it were fried cheese with a jalapeno center - a Moon Popper - the orbit would be completely different.

  6. initial data by GLowder · · Score: 2

    Initial data seems to indicate the presence of a monolith buried underneath the surface of the moon. Scientists baffled at the implications.

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    I used to have a good sig...
  7. Re:Radical opinion here. by somersault · · Score: 4, Funny

    The "crusts" on cheese are more commonly known as skins.

    Cheese cake doesn't have a crust, it has a base.. and we haven't seen any moon bases yet.

    I have to say that I'm sorely disappointed in the lack of moon poppers. Poppers are the moondog's nuts.

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    which is totally what she said
  8. Crosses fingers by ThatsNotPudding · · Score: 1

    and hopes for an anomoly at Tycho.

  9. Re:Radical opinion here. by arth1 · · Score: 4, Informative

    It's not called a "crust" or a "skin", it's called the rind.

    Cheeses can have both rinds and crusts. The rind is on the outside, and is intended to be there. Crusts, on the other hand, develop mostly unintentionally, and often on the inside too after a cheese has been cut. An outside crust can be treated, e.g. with brine, to create a rind.

    As for skins, yes, some have those too. Jarlsberg, for example, has a sprayed on rubbery skin between the cheese and the protective wax. It is NOT a rind, and not meant for consumption (and neither is the protective wax, although I've seen dolts that eat it).

    In addition to these, some moist cheeses like Cabecou and Gamalost develop fur instead. It's a fungal layer which can be quite tasty. Sometimes it's compressed into the cheese again to make part of the rind, like in a Brie.

  10. Re:Radical opinion here. by Joce640k · · Score: 1

    So how come a pizza is a "pie"?

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    No sig today...
  11. The real excitement by Peter+Simpson · · Score: 3

    Will come when they do a survery of the moon's *magnetic* field.

  12. Re:I beg to differ .... by Chris+Burke · · Score: 1

    The salient point being that it is underneath, not on top.

    Hm, that's not very flame-y... Don't want to disappoint...

    Ah! Cheesecake flambe! It might have a thin seared crust on top!

    --

    The enemies of Democracy are