Moon magnetic discovery shows how much we don't know

William Atkins
Sunday, 18 January 2009 21:22

Science - Space

The MIT article concludes with: “The magnetic field necessary to have magnetized this rock would have been about one-fiftieth as strong as Earth's is today, Weiss said."

Dr. Weiss adds, ‘This is consistent with dynamo theory,’ and also fits in with the prevailing theory that the moon was born when a Mars-sized body crashed into the Earth and blasted much of its crust into space, where it clumped together to form the moon.”

Weiss concludes by saying, "While humans have visited the moon six times, we have really only scratched the surface when it comes to our understanding of this world.”

For additional information on this special piece of Moon rock, go to “76535 troctolite ” (pdf file) on the NASA Johnson Space Center (Houston, Texas) website.

For more information on the NASA Apollo program, please go to “Apollo: Expanding Our Knowledge of the Solar System.”

To learn more about how the Moon rocks returned to Earth by NASA have helped scientists learn more about the Moon and our Solar System, please go to the NASA website “Moon Rocks and the Moon.”