Planetary Magnetism: Unlocking the Secrets of Planetary Interiors

摘要

Many planetary bodies in our solar system have magnetic fields that we can observe with spacecraft instruments. These magnetic fields are generated deep in planetary interiors by complex motions in liquid conductors. Because these magnetic fields are observable outside of the planet, they can act as important probes of planetary interiors. In this talk I will describe what we know of planetary magnetic fields and how they have provided us with fundamental information about the structure, composition and evolution of planets.*