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Was the Moon once a magnetic powerhouse? Scientists unravel new lunar mystery

Published

3 years ago

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Was the Moon once a magnetic powerhouse? Scientists unravel new lunar mystery

Scientists have long been interested in the non-magnetic nature of the moon today, and samples of rocks and regolith returned from the lunar surface suggest that they formed in the presence of a strong magnetic field. This magnetic field is so strong that it rivals that of Earth.

The moon may have been an occasional magnetic field powerhouse early in its history, a new study confirms, as scientists determine how a moon-sized object could generate such a powerful magnetic field. Evidence that the moon may be magnetic popped up when rocks returned to Earth were analyzed during NASA’s Apollo program from 1968 to 1972.

The study, published in the journal Nature Astronomy, suggests that the kind of internal convection that might have produced these strong magnetic fields could have been created through the massive rock layers that sink through the lunar mantle. The process likely produced intermittently strong magnetic fields during the first billion years of the moon’s history, the researchers said.

How is the magnetic field created?
“Everything we think about how planetary cores generate magnetic fields tell us that a moon-sized body shouldn’t generate as strong a magnetic field as Earth,” said Alexander Evans, assistant professor of Earth, Environment and Planets at Brown University. Science, who is also a co-author of the study.

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Magnetic fields in planetary bodies are created by a process called a core dynamo, when slow heat dissipation causes convection of molten metal in the planet’s core. The constant stirring of the conductive material is what creates the magnetic field. This is the same way that Earth creates a magnetic field, which protects the surface from the sun’s most dangerous radiation.
Evans added that instead of thinking about how to continuously power a strong magnetic field over billions of years, perhaps there is a way to get high-intensity magnetic fields intermittently. “Our model shows how this happens, which is consistent with what we know about the Moon’s interior,” Evans said. For the core to be constantly magnetic, it needs to emit a lot of heat.

Complete News Source : India Today

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Nasa’s old map of Jupiter, which reminds many of dosa, has gone viral once more

Published

2 years ago

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May 25, 2022

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Nasa’s old map of Jupiter, which reminds many of dosa, has gone viral once more

Certain images or videos frequently resurface on the Internet, leaving people speechless. When those clips or pictures are shared again on one social media platform or another, they create a buzz. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (Nasa) created and posted this image of a map of Jupiter online a few years ago. After being shared on Twitter, the image drew a lot of attention this time. And, as usual, the image made people think of dosa, a popular South Indian dish.

The image was shared by the Twitter account Latest in Space. “From the very bottom of Jupiter, I’m looking up. While tweeting the image, they wrote, “Seen by NASA Cassini.” The images from the Cassini spacecraft’s narrow-angle camera were used to create this out-of-this-world image, which is part of a coloured map series produced by the space agency.

The article was published a few days ago. The tweet has received nearly 20,000 likes since it was shared, and the number is growing. The tweet has been retweeted more than 2,000 times. Take a look at some of the comments to see how the image of Jupiter looks like dosa.

A Twitter user commented, “Looks like a designer dosa.” “When I rush to pick up a call, this is what happens to my dosa on the dosa pan,” one joked. “This is how my mother makes Dosa,” a third said. “Jupiter in the making,” wrote a fourth, along with a photo of someone preparing – you guessed it – dosa.

 

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