Abstract
Models of lunar magnetism have involved dynamo action in a fluid core in an early hot Moon; an early cold Moon magnetised some time before 4.0 × 109 yr ago, which has subsequently heated up; and local field sources which, in some models, are related to impact. Here we examine the second possibility and show that provided the Moon contained a few percent of metallic iron and was exposed to an extra-Lunar field of about 10 or 20 oersted while much of it was still below the Curie point of iron, a restricted class of thermal evolution models, which satisfy the known constraints, can be derived.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 51 print issues and online access
$199.00 per year
only $3.90 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on Springer Link
- Instant access to full article PDF
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Fricker, P. H., Reynolds, R. K., and Summers, A. L., J. geophys. Res., 72, 2649 (1967).
Toksoz, M. N., Solomon, S. C., Minear, J. W., and Johnson, D. H., The Moon, 4, 190 (1972).
Anderson, D. L., and Phinney, R. A., Mantles of the Earth and Terrestrial Planets, 113 (Interscience, New York, 1967).
Wood, J. A., Icarus, 16, 229 (1972).
Papanastassiou, D. A., and Wasserburg, G. J., Earth planet. Sci. Lett., 11, 37 (1971).
Ringwood, A. E., and Essene, E., Proc. Apollo 11 Lunar Sci. Conf., 1, 769 (1970).
Latham, G. V., et al., Apollo 17 preliminary Science Report, (in the press).
Nakamura, Y., Lammlein, D., Latham, G., Dorman, J., Science, 181, 49 (1973).
Toksoz, M. N., Press, F., Dainty, A. M., and Anderson, K., The Moon (in the press).
Pearce, G. W., Strangway, D. W., and Gose, W. A., Proc. third Lunar Sci. Conf., 3, 2449 (1972).
Levy, E. H., Science, 178, 52 (1972).
Runcorn, S. K., and Urey, H. C., Science, 180, 636 (1973).
Gose, W. A., Strangway, D. W., and Pearce, G. W., The Moon, 7, 196 (1973).
Helsley, C. E., Proc. second Lunar Sci. Conf., 3, 2485 (1972).
Nagata, T., Fisher, R. M., Schwerer, F. C., Fuller, M. D., and Dunn, J. R., Proc. second Lunar Sci. Conf., 3, 2461 (1972).
Nagata, T., Fisher, R. M., Schwerer, F. C., Fuller, M. D., and Dunn, J. R., Proc. third Lunar Sci. Conf., 2423 (1972).
Mihalov, J. D., Sonett, C. P., Binsack, J. H., and Moutsoulas, M. D., Science, 171, 892 (1971).
Pearce, G. W., Gose, W. A., and Strangway, D. W., Proc. fourth Lunar Sci. Conf., (in the press).
Alfven, H., and Arrhenius, G., The Moon, (in the press). Alfven, H., The Origin of the Solar System (Oxford University Press, Oxford, 1954).
Gose, W. A., Pearce, G. W., Strangway, D. W., and Larson, E. E., The Moon, 5, 106 (1972).
Mizutani, H., Matsui, T., and Takeuchi, H., The Moon, 4, 476 (1972).
McConnell, R. K., and Gast, P. W., The Moon, 5, 41 (1972).
Wood, J. A., J. geophys. Res., 75, 6497 (1971).
Gast, P. W., and Giuli, R. T., Earth planet. Sci. Lett., 16, 299 (1972).
Langseth, M. G., Keihm, S. J., and Chute, J. L., Apollo 17 Preliminary Science Report, (in the press).
Schatz, J., and Simmons, G., J. geophys. Res., 77, (1972).
Ringwood, A. E., Essene, E., Proc. Apollo 11 Lunar Sci. Conf., 1, 769 (1970).
MacDonald, G. F., Space Sci. Rev., 2, 473 (1963).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Strangway, D., Sharpe, H. Lunar magnetism and an early cold Moon. Nature 249, 227–230 (1974). https://doi.org/10.1038/249227a0
Received:
Revised:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/249227a0
This article is cited by
-
The record of magnetic fields in the early solar system
The Moon and the Planets (1978)
-
Early lunar magnetism
Nature (1976)
-
Possible origin of lunar magnetism
Nature (1975)
-
On the origin of ancient lunar magnetic fields
The Moon (1975)
-
A model of lunar evolution
The Moon (1975)
Comments
By submitting a comment you agree to abide by our Terms and Community Guidelines. If you find something abusive or that does not comply with our terms or guidelines please flag it as inappropriate.
