Mysterious swirling patterns seen on the moon’s surface may be linked to subsurface magma activity, a new study suggests.
“lunar rotations” observed on the moon display a spiral pattern created by magnetized rocks that deflect or redirect the solar wind particles constantly bombarding the moon. Moon rocks that fall within the lunar orbits remain light-colored, while neighboring rocks that do not—and were therefore affected by charged particles from SUN — appear to undergo a chemical reaction that makes them appear darker, according to a statement from Washington University in St.
However, granted MONDAY there is no classic magnetic field separately, researchers had to look for another source that could have magnetized the lunar gyres, which, in some areas, can stretch for hundreds of miles, according to images from NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO).
“Impacts can cause these kinds of magnetic anomalies. But there are some rotations where we’re just not sure how an impact could create that shape and that size of thing,” Michael J. Krawczynski, co-author of the study and a collaborator. professor of earth, environmental and planetary sciences at Washington University in St. said the statement. “Another theory is that you have lava underground, slowly cooling into one magnetic field and creating magnetic anomalies”.
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“Impacts can cause these kinds of magnetic anomalies. But there are some rotations where we’re just not sure how an impact could create that shape and that size of thing,” Michael J. Krawczynski, co-author of the study and a collaborator. professor of earth, environmental and planetary sciences at Washington University in St. said the statement. “Another theory is that you have lava underground, slowly cooling into one magnetic field and creating magnetic anomalies”.
Using a mineral called ilmenite, which is abundant on the Moon, the researchers aimed to replicate the magnetizing effect. They studied the reaction between ilmenite and various combinations of atmospheric chemistry and magmatic cooling rates to create iron metal particles, which can be magnetized.
“Our analog experiments showed that under lunar conditions, we could create the magnetizable material we needed. So it’s plausible that these spins are caused by underground magma“, Krawczynski said in the statement, noting that the underground magma must have high titanium for the results to be true. “We have seen hints of this reaction creating iron metal on the moon. meteorites and on the moon samples from Apollo. But all of these samples are surface lava flows, and our study shows that subsurface cooling should significantly enhance these metal-forming reactions.”
Understanding the origin of lunar rotations provides new clues about the processes that have shaped the lunar surface and the history of the moon’s magnetic field. NASA plans to send a lunar rover called Reiner Gamma into orbit in 2025 as part of Lunar Vertex Missionwhich will allow researchers to closely investigate these surface features.
“If we could detect, we could see if this reaction was happening,” Krawczynski said in the statement. “That would be great, but it’s not possible yet. For now, we’re stuck with the surface.”
Their findings were published on May 20 in Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets.