Moon's magnetosphere. The moon is important for maintaining the earth's magnetic field

The Earth's magnetic field constantly protects us from charged particles and radiation that come to us from the Sun. This shield is created by swift movement huge amount molten iron in outer core Earth (geodynamo). In order for the magnetic field to survive to this day, the classical model provides for a cooling of the core by 3000 degrees Celsius over the past 4.3 billion years.

However, a group of researchers from the National Center scientific research France and Blaise Pascal University reported that the core temperature dropped by only 300 degrees. The action of the Moon, previously ignored, compensated for the temperature difference and maintained the geodynamo. The work was published March 30, 2016 in Earth and Planetary Science Letters.

Classical formation model magnetic field Earth gave birth to a paradox. For the geodynamo to work, the Earth must have been completely molten 4 billion years ago, and its core must have cooled slowly from 6800 degrees then to 3800 degrees today. But recent simulations of the early evolution of the planet's internal temperature, together with geochemical studies of the composition of the oldest carbonatites and basalts, do not support such cooling. Thus, the researchers suggest that the geodynamo has another source of energy.

The earth has a slightly flattened shape and an inclined axis of rotation that wobbles around the poles. Its mantle is elastically deformed due to tidal effects caused by the Moon. The researchers showed that this effect can permanently stimulate the movement of molten iron in the outer core, which in turn generates the Earth's magnetic field.

Our planet continuously receives 3,700 billion watts of power through the transfer of gravitational energy from the rotation of the Earth-Moon-Sun system, and more than 1,000 billion watts, according to scientists, is available for geodynamo. This energy is enough to generate the Earth's magnetic field, and together with the Moon, this explains the main paradox of the classical theory. The influence of gravitational forces on the planet's magnetic field has long been confirmed by the example of Jupiter's satellites Io and Europa, as well as for a number of exoplanets.

Since neither the Earth's rotation about its own axis, nor the direction of the axis, nor the Moon's orbit is regular, their combined effect is unstable and can cause fluctuations in the geodynamo. This process can explain some of the thermal impulses in the outer core and at its boundary with the Earth's mantle.

Thus, the new model shows that the influence of the Moon on the Earth goes far beyond the ebb and flow.

At the same time, there are suggestions that the Moon is involved in the mixing of the Earth's core. The moon may be involved in the mixing of the earth's core. After research, French scientists came to this conclusion, as stated on the pages of Earth and Planetary Science Letters.

According to French planetologists and geophysicists, the Moon can mix the Earth's core with the help of tidal forces, thus maintaining the geomagnetic field. As you know, the magnetic field protects the planet from charged cosmic particles, but for such a long period it would not have been kept only thanks to the Earth.

There is a version that the Moon contributes to the mixing of the liquid outer core of iron and nickel, which does not allow these elements to cool down and allows them to continue their activities. As was previously thought, the work of the geomagnetic field is provided by the rotation of the Earth, as well as the temperature difference between the inner and outer layers.

Scientists have calculated that the outer cores should have cooled by 5.4 thousand degrees in 4.3 billion years, but in the end they cooled by only a few hundred degrees. This suggests that an external mechanism also acts on the mechanism of the Earth's magnetic field. They can be tidal forces that arise due to the gravitational field of the moon.

The energy that the Earth receives due to tidal forces should be enough for the correct operation of the planet's magnetic field.

Several billion years ago, the Moon had about the same strong magnetic field as the Earth, although its strength was about 30 times less. The magnetic field of the Earth and some other planets protective function, rejecting most solar wind depleting the ozone layer.

The Earth's magnetic field is generated by the movement of particles in the liquid core. The core of the Moon has a slightly different structure and is much smaller in size. But scientists have suggested and almost proved that many years ago there was just such a core inside the moon. It created a powerful magnetic field. The presence of magnetization around the Moon refutes the theory that given planet is a huge stone formation and cannot have its own core. It is not possible to look into the lunar interior and study the structure well, but according to certain indirect signs, this can be done.

The second hypothesis was that the magnetization was not caused by the moon's small metallic core, but by a thick layer of molten (liquid) rock on top of it.

The magnetic field of the modern moon

In fact, the magnetic field modern planet The moon consists of constant and variable currents. Constant fields create magnetized surface rocks. They change very quickly from one point to another. Variable fields arise in the bowels of the Moon.

The Moon's magnetic field is currently very weak. Its intensity is approximately 0.5 gamma. Experts explain that this is approximately 0.1% of the tension earth field. The electric field near the Moon was not measured, but studies were carried out and scientists found out that it exists, and due to the significant tidal effect from the Earth, a strong redistribution of electric charges should occur inside the Moon.

The moon's magnetic field has existed for a billion years longer than previously thought, researchers have found. The discovery sheds light on one of the main mysteries of the Moon and expands the search for habitable worlds beyond Earth.

Today the Moon has no magnetic field, but this was not always the case; 4.25–3.56 billion years ago, the lunar magnetic field was the same as that of the Earth. The field was formed due to the circular motion of liquids in the molten core of the Moon - the so-called lunar dynamo.

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Scientists have long been at a loss in determining the date of the disappearance of the magnetic field. Previous studies could not say for sure whether the field disappeared completely 3.19 billion years ago or remained in a weaker form.

To answer this question, scientists decided to study rock samples younger than 3.56 billion years, says Sonia Tiku, a planetary scientist and co-author of the study from Rutgers University (Canada).

Tiku and her colleagues from the University of California at Berkeley (USA) and Massachusetts technological university(USA) analyzed a piece of rock that was brought to Earth by the Apollo 15 mission in 1971. The sample contains fragments of basalt that has broken off larger boulders. Dating based on ratio different isotopes argon, showed that basalt formed from lava that erupted 3.3 billion years ago.

Fragments of basalt are held together by a vitreous material that formed when the mineral was melted by a meteorite impact. The researchers believe that the vitreous material formed 1–2.5 billion years ago. The impact also melted the iron-bearing grains in the basalt. They re-crystallized in the glassy material as it quickly cooled, "recording" the Moon's magnetic field.

After a series of experiments at different temperatures, the team found that the grains formed when the Moon had a magnetic field 10 times weaker than Earth's.

Such a field is 1,000 times stronger than what the astronauts have measured, and much stronger than a field generated by the Earth would be.

Tiku is confident that the lunar dynamo was still working 1–2.5 billion years ago. The long existence of the field excludes the fact that the dynamo was the result of strong impacts, which could only generate temporary magnetic fields. But impacts strong enough to create even a temporary magnetic field ended almost 3.7 billion years ago. Most likely, says Tiku, many mechanisms played a role.

The Moon's strong magnetic field was likely shaped by the influence of the Earth's gravitational pull on the lunar mantle and mantle vibrations that started a whirlpool in the Moon's liquid core. However, as the Moon moved away from the Earth, and the gravitational pull became weaker, another mechanism began to dominate, which produced a weaker field.

It is possible that the weaker field formed as the Moon's core cooled and energy was released from solidifying iron and churning the core with lighter elements such as carbon and sulfur.

Research results are important when we are talking about alien worlds that could support life. Small planetary bodies cannot be excluded from the list of those that can have permanent magnetic fields - an important factor for the presence of an atmosphere and water.

A magnetic field

The gravitational effects caused by the presence of the Moon and the Sun cause a cyclical deformation of the Earth's mantle, thereby swinging its axis of rotation. This mechanical action affects the entire planet and causes strong currents in the outer core, which consists of liquid iron with a very low viscosity. Such currents are sufficient to create the Earth's magnetic field.

The Earth's magnetic field constantly protects us from charged particles and radiation that are generated by the Sun. This shield is formed by the geodynamo, the rapid movement of huge amounts of liquid iron alloy in the Earth's outer core. To maintain this magnetic field until today, according to the classical model, the Earth had to have a core that had cooled by about 3000°C over the past 4.3 billion years.

Now, a team of researchers from CNRS and Pascal University says the core temperature has dropped by only 300°C. This is due to the fact that until now scientists have not taken into account the action of the Moon, which is believed to compensate for this difference and maintain the geodynamo in an active state. The researchers' work was published March 30, 2016 in Earth and Planetary Science Letters.

The classical model of the formation of the Earth's magnetic field has a paradox: during the operation of the geodynamo, the core of the Earth, completely melted four billion years ago and having at that time a temperature of about 6800°C today, would have to cool down to 3800°C. However, recent simulations of the early evolution of the planet's internal temperature, together with geochemical studies of the composition of the oldest carbonatites and basalts, have not confirmed such cooling. Thus, the researchers suggest that the geodynamo has another source of energy.

The earth is slightly flattened and rotates on a tilted axis that wobbles around the poles. Its mantle is elastically deformed due to tidal effects caused by the Moon. The researchers showed that this effect can continuously stimulate the movement of the liquid iron alloy that makes up the outer core, and in turn, generate the Earth's magnetic field. Due to the transfer of the gravitational energy of the rotation of the Earth-Moon-Sun system, the Earth continuously receives 3,700 billion watts of power, of which more than 1,000 billion watts, as the researchers believe, is available to create this type of movement in the outer core. This energy is enough to generate the Earth's magnetic field, thereby allowing the main paradox of the classical theory to be solved. The influence of gravitational forces on the planet's magnetic field has already been documented on the example of two satellites of Jupiter: Io and Europa, as well as for a number of exoplanets.

Since neither the rotation of the Earth about its axis, nor the direction of its axis, nor the orbit of the Moon are constant, their combined effect on motion in the core is unstable and can cause oscillations in the dynamo. This process may explain the presence of warmer regions in the outer core and at its boundary with the Earth's mantle. Which in turn could lead to major volcanic events in the history of the Earth. The new model shows that the influence of the Moon on the Earth goes far beyond simple tides.

The Earth's magnetic field constantly protects us from charged particles and radiation that come to us from the Sun. This shield is created by the rapid movement of a huge amount of molten iron in the outer core of the Earth (geodynamo). In order for the magnetic field to survive to the present day, the classical model provides for a cooling of the core by 3000 degrees Celsius over the past 4.3 billion years.

However, a team of researchers from the National Center for Scientific Research of France and Blaise Pascal University reported that the temperature of the core dropped by only 300 degrees. The action of the Moon, previously ignored, compensated for the temperature difference and maintained the geodynamo. The work was published March 30, 2016 in Earth and Planetary Science Letters.

The classical model of the formation of the Earth's magnetic field has created a paradox. For the geodynamo to work, the Earth must have been completely molten 4 billion years ago, and its core must have cooled slowly from 6800 degrees then to 3800 degrees today. But recent simulations of the early evolution of the planet's internal temperature, together with geochemical studies of the composition of the oldest carbonatites and basalts, do not support such cooling. Thus, the researchers suggest that the geodynamo has another source of energy.

The earth has a slightly flattened shape and an inclined axis of rotation that wobbles around the poles. Its mantle is elastically deformed due to tidal effects caused by the Moon. The researchers showed that this effect can permanently stimulate the movement of molten iron in the outer core, which in turn generates the Earth's magnetic field. Our planet continuously receives 3,700 billion watts of power through the transfer of gravitational energy from the rotation of the Earth-Moon-Sun system, and more than 1,000 billion watts, according to scientists, is available for geodynamo. This energy is enough to generate the Earth's magnetic field, and together with the Moon, this explains the main paradox of the classical theory. The influence of gravitational forces on the planet's magnetic field has long been confirmed by the example of Jupiter's satellites Io and Europa, as well as for a number of exoplanets.

Since neither the Earth's rotation about its own axis, nor the direction of the axis, nor the Moon's orbit is regular, their combined effect is unstable and can cause fluctuations in the geodynamo. This process can explain some of the thermal impulses in the outer core and at its boundary with the Earth's mantle.

Thus, the new model shows that the influence of the Moon on the Earth goes far beyond the ebb and flow.