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Where do strange magnetic anomalies on the Moon come from? Scientists claim to have discovered the cause of the phenomenon
An examination of lunar rock samples brought back to Earth has yielded a new hypothesis about one of the Moon’s mysteries. Magnetic anomalies on our natural satellite may be the result of large cosmic bombardments, scientists say.
More than half a century has passed since lunar regolith was first brought to Earth. Nevertheless, the samples there still harbor secrets. Some of the rocks are as much as 3 billion years old and, it has been shown, must have been formed in a strong magnetic field.
During the Apollo missions, measurements were also made of the magnetic field on the lunar surface. It turned out that it exists, although it is very weak, and that it varies depending on where it is measured. Where does it come from?
In the case of the Earth, a strong magnetic field is produced by a rotating liquid nucleus, which consists of conductive iron. The moon, however, does not have a liquid nucleus. To explain the strange magnetization of the regolith, very different hypotheses have already been put forward.
New samples from the Moon
The latest has just been described in the scientific journal Nature Communications. Its…
