Model for magnetic mystery

摘要

Magnetic fields provide key information in reconstructing the evolutionary history of planetary bodies. Planets such as Earth and the gas giants have magnetic fields produced by self-sustaining dynamos that are a manifestation of the cooling of the deep planetary interior. In contrast, mystery surrounds the possible existence of a dynamo on the Moon. At present, the Moon has no internally generated magnetic field, but rock samples brought back by the Apollo missions bear evidence that the surface was magnetized in the past. On page 143 of this issue, Stegman and colleagues revisit the question of dynamo generation on the Moon, making use of three-dimensional models that simulate the dynamics of the early lunar mantle.