Moon’s magnetic pull lasted much longer than thought: Chinese study

By Bogorpedia January 17, 2025 Post a Comment

Rocks from the Moon, gathered by China's Chang'e-5 expedition, provide new information that might offer crucial perspectives into factors governing planetary habitability and evolutionary processes.

The magnetic field lasted quite a while after it should have vanished during its middle-aged stage.

Researchers found that the moon's magnetic field was between two and four microteslas around two billion years ago, about 10 percent of the size of our planet's current surface magnetic field. Their results were published in the journal Science Advances on Thursday.

Ross Mitchell, co-author of the paper from the Institute of Geology and Geophysics in Beijing, stated that, although some believed the moon's magnetic field had gradually diminished by then, their study revealed that it "at least still persisted to some extent".

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The weak, but long-lasting, magnetic field was likely sustained by persistent interior processes, including the solidification of the moon's core or the interactions between its core and mantle, according to Dr. Benjamin Weiss, a planetary scientist from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, who was not involved in the research.

These processes would have maintained the moon's magnetic field for billions of years.

"The moon goddess's elixir appears to have been successful," Weiss stated in a review article analyzing the results. He was referring to the Chang'e missions, which were titled after the goddess who took refuge on the moon after stealing an elixir that was said to grant eternal life from the gods.

The findings indicate that the persistent magnetic field may have protected the moon's surface from harmful solar radiation, thereby helping to maintain volatile compounds, like water.

Revealing the intricacies of the moon's magnetic past provides valuable information regarding planetary suitability for life and its evolutionary process.

Previous Apollo missions suggested its existence over three billion years ago, with a strength comparable to Earth's current magnetic field, which fluctuates between 25 to 65 microteslas.

It remained unclear for how long the lunar dynamo was active.

The question of the American Apollo samples has been challenging to address because they are relatively old and have iron grains with poorly preserved magnetic signals and other limitations, according to Weiss.

missions five decades ago.

For this investigation, the scientists chose nine small basalt pieces - each measuring 3-8 millimeters in length and weighing less than 0.3 grams.

These fragments acted like magnetic recorders, preserving the magnetic field present when the rocks were formed billions of years ago. The researchers then extracted the ancient magnetic signals by using highly sensitive laboratory techniques.

"When dealing with magnetism, small sample sizes result in weak signals, necessitating complex and labor-intensive laboratory efforts," said lead author Cai Shuhui, a collaborator of Mitchell's at the Institute of Geology and Geophysics.

"We were just good enough," she said.

The magnetic field strength of two to four microteslas showed a striking contrast to the much stronger fields present in the moon's early past, which reached tens of microteslas.

A magnetic field significantly larger than initially anticipated.

"Magnetic field zones generated in the moon's core indicate its deep interior was still incredibly hot and active, which explains the enigmatic, late volcanic activity revealed in the samples from Chang'e-5," Mitchell said.

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Moon’s magnetic pull lasted much longer than thought: Chinese study

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