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The ancient lunar core dynamo.

S K Runcorn

    Science (New York, N.Y.)
    |February 17, 1978
    PubMed
    Summary
    This summary is machine-generated.

    Lunar paleomagnetism reveals an ancient magnetic field originating from an iron core. Experiments suggest this field, initially 1.3 gauss, decayed exponentially, implying unknown heat sources like superheavy elements in the early Moon.

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    Area of Science:

    • Planetary Science
    • Geophysics
    • Lunar Science

    Background:

    • Lunar paleomagnetism offers insights into the Moon's internal structure and history.
    • The existence and origin of an ancient lunar magnetic field are subjects of ongoing research.

    Purpose of the Study:

    • To investigate the nature and strength of the ancient lunar magnetic field.
    • To evaluate the plausibility of known heat sources for generating the lunar dynamo.

    Main Methods:

    • Analysis of lunar paleomagnetism using paleointensity experiments.
    • Thermodynamic arguments to assess core heat sources.

    Main Results:

    • Evidence for a lunar magnetic field of 1.3 gauss approximately 4.0 billion years ago.

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  • The magnetic field strength decreased exponentially over time.
  • Known heat sources (e.g., radioactive decay) are quantitatively insufficient to explain the observed field intensity.

    • Conclusions:

    • The early Moon likely possessed a dynamo-generated magnetic field originating from its iron core.
    • An unknown, potent heat source, possibly superheavy elements, was required to sustain the lunar dynamo.