News Planetary Science

Granite likely lurks beneath the moon’s surface

It’s a difficult type of rock to make without plate tectonics or water

A photo of the lunar surface

The moon’s Compton-Belkovich Volcanic Complex, shown in this Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter image, might be home to the largest mass of granite discovered beyond Earth.

Arizona State University, GSFC/NASA

By Katherine Kornei

Watch out Yosemite — the moon has its own impressive rock display.

An enormous chunk of granite, measuring roughly 50 kilometers wide, may be buried beneath the lunar surface, researchers reported July 5 in Nature.