Post by willi1 on Sept 10, 2018 16:40:21 GMT
For years, bright vortex patterns in the otherwise dark lunar soil were a mystery to scientists. Particularly striking is the nebulous structure Reiner Gamma. At ten other places on the moon, similar patterns can be found, which the moon displays as the only celestial body of the solar system.
Unlike the moon itself, the swirls have their own, even strong magnetic field.
So far, the theory assumed that it would be shockwave phenomena of impacts on the opposite side of the moon or remnants of broken cometary cores. But that does not explain the magnetism.
Scientists at the University of California at Berkeley have discovered that every vortex above a magnetic object must be just below the lunar surface. The cause is said to be unique selenological reactions during former moon eruptions about three billion years ago.
The result agrees with the presence of underground hidden lava flows, the scientists continue. These are tunnels once dug into the ground by liquid lava during volcanic eruptions. Alternatively, it could also be so-called lava dikes, so to vertically through the lunar crust running layers of former lava.
Unlike the moon itself, the swirls have their own, even strong magnetic field.
So far, the theory assumed that it would be shockwave phenomena of impacts on the opposite side of the moon or remnants of broken cometary cores. But that does not explain the magnetism.
Scientists at the University of California at Berkeley have discovered that every vortex above a magnetic object must be just below the lunar surface. The cause is said to be unique selenological reactions during former moon eruptions about three billion years ago.
The result agrees with the presence of underground hidden lava flows, the scientists continue. These are tunnels once dug into the ground by liquid lava during volcanic eruptions. Alternatively, it could also be so-called lava dikes, so to vertically through the lunar crust running layers of former lava.
In experiments, they have demonstrated that lunar rocks can become highly magnetized when heated to over 600 degrees Celsius in an oxygen-free environment. The reason for this lies in a certain collapse of the contained minerals at high temperatures and the associated excretion of metallic iron.
