Nectarian

Nectarian
3920 – 3850 Ma PreN I N E C
Chronology
−4500 — – −4000 — – −3500 — – −3000 — – −2500 — – −2000 — – −1500 — – −1000 — – −500 — – 0 — Pre-Nectarian Nectarian Imbrian Eratosthenian Copernican Late Early       Periods on the Lunar Geologic Timescale. Axis scale: Millions of years ago.
Usage information
Celestial body	Earth's Moon
Time scale(s) used	Lunar geologic timescale
Definition
Chronological unit	Period

The Nectarian Period of the lunar geologic timescale was from 3.920 billion years ago to 3.850 billion years ago. It is the period during which the Nectaris Basin and other major basins were formed by large impact events. Ejecta from Nectaris form the upper part of the densely cratered terrain found in lunar highlands. The period ended with the formation of the Imbrium basin, which initiated the Imbrian Period. ^[1] Magnetic anomalies found in some Nectarian Period basins suggest that the Moon possessed a core dynamo magnetic field at that time. ^[2]

Millions of years before present

References

1. Liu, J.; Guo, D. (2018). "Lunar geological timescale" (PDF). Encyclopedia of lunar science. pp. 1–3. Retrieved 2024-09-01.
2. Hood, Lon L. (February 2011). "Central magnetic anomalies of Nectarian-aged lunar impact basins: Probable evidence for an early core dynamo". Icarus. 211 (2): 1109–1128. Bibcode:2011Icar..211.1109H. doi:10.1016/j.icarus.2010.08.012.