A team of astronomers and geologists at Durham University have come up with a new map of the moon's most rare volcano. The map unveiled that the volcano's eruption spits out material in a greater area than thought.

The researchers have studied an area of lunar surface in the Compton-Belkovich Volcanic Complex. They mapped thorium, radioactive element, which was spewed out during the eruption. Astronomers came to know that the volcano's debris covered an area equivalent to the size of Scotland.

The eruption happened 3.5 billion years ago. The researchers used data from NASA's Lunar Prospector spacecraft that spotted the volcano site for the first time in 1999. The researchers have used a pixon image enhancement technique to improve the map.

It unveiled about the deposits of the thorium from the volcanic eruption. "Volcanoes were common in the early life of the Moon and in fact the dark 'seas' you can observe on the lunar surface were created by runny, iron-rich, lava that flooded large areas, filling in impact craters and low-lying ground", said Jack Wilson from Durham University.

Wilson, who has presented the study findings at the 46th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference in Texas, shared that through mapping the radioactive content of the lava, they have been able to know that the volcanic material's spread was thrown far beyond the level considered before. The material spread reached several hundred miles on one direction.

The researchers shared that the deposit was not easy to study as it is present beneath debris from meteorite impacts. Lunar Prospector detected gamma rays that were emitted by thorium.

The research team said that it is now planning to use the mapping technique to Olympus Mons on Mars, which is the largest known volcano in the solar system.