Futurity · Space

New Method Suggests Moon Once Had Internal Magnetic Field

New research proposes the Moon once had an internally generated magnetic field, challenging previous debates.

Unlike Earth, the Moon lacks a core-generated magnetic field today. Debates exist on whether a strong field existed 4.25-3.5 billion years ago, with some rock samples showing evidence and others not. Meteorite impacts are an alternative explanation.

This study supports the dynamo theory, concluding the Moon had an internally generated magnetic field around 4.2 billion years ago. Researchers used orbital data, including gravity and magnetic field measurements.

The focus was the Dewar region, where a magnetic field anomaly coincides with a gravity anomaly, suggesting denser, magnetized rock.

By processing gravity and magnetic data, a subsurface rock body was modeled. This body is denser and strongly magnetized, indicating solidified magma from a buried volcanic complex.

The structure's age is 4.2 billion years. The Moon's magnetic field strength was estimated over 10 microtesla, comparable to Earth's current field.

Impacts are unlikely causes. Researchers are exploring how the Moon's core generated this field, shifting focus to 'How did it work?'.

The findings may aid future missions and understanding of lunar magnetic evolution. The method could also apply to other celestial bodies.

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