New moon mineral found

A new mineral has been found in a meteorite from the moon which was found in Oman in April 2001, report agencies. 

The mineral has been named hapkeite, after Bruce Hapke of the University of Pittsburgh who predicted the existence of such a compound on the moon 30 years ago. Hapke, 70, retired recently.

Hapkeite, an iron and silicon compound, is made when tiny particles from space impact the moon's surface at very high speeds. Since the moon has an airless surface, the process is very different from what occurs under similar circumstances on earth, said scientists.

Small meteorites which would burn after entering the earth's atmosphere constantly bombard the lunar surface and in turn darken the moon's surface, a process called 'weathering.' The new found mineral is one of several such compounds predicted as possible a result of space weathering.