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Results for “Lunar magnetic fields”

Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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NASA NTRS1975

Lunar remnant magnetic field mapping from orbital observations of mirrored electrons

A technique is described for mapping areas of lunar surface magnetism by observing ambient low-energy electrons from lunar orbit with a detector that is sectored to distinguish directions of arrival with respect to the ambient magnetic field and the lunar surface. It is noted that the ambient electrons provide a probe along the ambient magnetic-field lines down to the lunar surface for remote sensing of the presence of surface fields. Unlike direct magnetometer measurements, this probe does not require low altitude or a very stable ambient field in order to map the occurrence regions of such fields. Preliminary maps generated for the surface magnetic areas underlying the orbit of the Particles and Fields Satellite deployed from Apollo 16 are presented to demonstrate the feasibility of this technique.

Mccoy, J. E.↗
NASA NTRS1979

Constraints on the origins of lunar magnetism from electron reflection measurements of surface magnetic fields

The paper describes a new method of detecting lunar surface magnetic fields, summarizes electron reflection measurements and correlations of surface field anomalies to moon geologic features, and discusses the constraints on the origin of lunar magnetism. Apollo 15 and 16 measurements of lunar surface magnetic fields by the electron reflection method show patches of strong surface fields distributed over the lunar surface, and a positive statistical correlation is found in lunar mare regions between the surface field strength and the geologic age of the surface. However, there is a lack of correlation of surface field with impact craters indicating that the mare does not have a strong large-scale uniform magnetization as may be expected from an ancient lunar dynamo. Fields were found in lunar highlands which imply that the rille has a strong magnetization associated with it as intrusive, magnetized rock or as a gap in a uniformly magnetic layer of rock.

Lin, R. P.↗
NASA NTRS1978

Lunar magnetic permeability, magnetic fields, and electrical conductivity temperature

In the time period 1969-1972 a total of five magnetometers were deployed on the lunar surface during four Apollo missions. Data from these instruments, along with simultaneous measurements from other experiments on the moon and in lunar orbit, were used to study properties of the lunar interior and the lunar environment. The principal scientific results from analyses of the magnetic field data are discussed. The results are presented in the following main categories: (1) lunar electrical conductivity, temperature, and structure; (2) lunar magnetic permeability, iron abundance, and core size limits; (3) the local remnant magnetic fields, their interaction with the solar wind, and a thermoelectric generator model for their origin. Relevant publications and presented papers are listed.

Parkin, C. W.↗
NASA NTRS1974

Magnetism and the interior of the moon

The application of lunar magnetic field measurements to the study of properties of the lunar crust and deep interior is reviewed. Following a brief description of lunar magnetometers and the lunar magnetic environment, measurements of lunar remanent fields and their interaction with the solar plasma are discussed. The magnetization induction mode is considered with reference to lunar magnetic permeability and iron abundance calculations. Finally, electrical conductivity and temperature calculations from analyses of poloidal induction, for data taken in both the solar wind and in the geomagnetic tail, are reviewed.

Dyal, P.↗
NASA NTRS1975

Lunar surface solar wind observations at the Apollo 12 and Apollo 15 sites

The solar wind-lunar magnetic field interaction is examined by comparing Apollo 12 and Apollo 15 solar wind spectrometric data. The instrumentation and data analysis methods are described along with the observations at the Apollo 15 site, and the data from the two sites are compared. The results show no noticeable differences between the properties of the upstream solar wind and the plasma observed at the Apollo 15 site (where the local magnetic field is relatively weak) and strong perturbations in the solar wind at the Apollo 12 site (where the field is relatively strong), which include deceleration, deflection, and heating of solar wind protons, focusing or defocusing of the ion flux, and an increased level of plasma parameter fluctuations. These effects are shown to require a charge-separated electric field above the lunar surface and a scale size of about 5 km for the local magnetic field at the Apollo 12 site and to suggest that local lunar magnetic field regions cause lunar limb compression waves which should be more noticeable for low solar wind dynamic pressures.

Clay, D. R.↗
NASA NTRS2012

Magnetization of the Lunar Crust

Magnetic fields measured by the satellite Lunar Prospector show large scale features resulting from remanently magnetized crust. Vector data synthesized at satellite altitude from a spherical harmonic model of the lunar crustal field, and the radial component of the magnetometer data, have been used to produce spatially continuous global magnetization models for the lunar crust. The magnetization is expressed in terms of localized basis functions, with a magnetization solution selected having the smallest root-mean square magnetization for a given fit to the data, controlled by a damping parameter. Suites of magnetization models for layers with thicknesses between 10 and 50 km are able to reproduce much of the input data, with global misfits of less than 0.5 nT (within the uncertainties of the data), and some surface field estimates. The magnetization distributions show robust magnitudes for a range of model thicknesses and damping parameters, however the magnetization direction is unconstrained. These global models suggest that magnetized sources of the lunar crust can be represented by a 30 km thick magnetized layer. Average magnetization values in magnetized regions are 30-40 mA/m, similar to the measured magnetizations of the Apollo samples and significantly weaker than crustal magnetizations for Mars and the Earth. These are the first global magnetization models for the Moon, providing lower bounds on the magnitude of lunar crustal magnetization in the absence of multiple sample returns, and can be used to predict the crustal contribution to the lunar magnetic field at a particular location.

Lunar↗
NASA NTRS1974

Lunar electrical conductivity, permeability,and temperature from Apollo magnetometer experiments

Magnetometers were deployed at four Apollo sites on the moon to measure remanent and induced lunar magnetic fields. Measurements from this network of instruments were used to calculate the electrical conductivity, temperature, magnetic permeability, and iron abundance of the lunar interior. Global lunar fields due to eddy currents, induced in the lunar interior by magnetic transients, were analyzed to calculate and electrical conductivity profile for the moon, and those profiles were used to calculate the lunar temperature for an assumed lunar material of olivine. Simultaneous measurements by magnetometers on the lunar surface and in orbit around the moon were use to construct a whole-moon hysteresis curve, from which the global lunar magnetic permeability is determined. Total iron abundance (sum of iron in the ferromagnetic and paramagnetic states) was calculated for two assumed compositional models of the lunar interior. Other lunar models with an iron core and with a shallow iron-rich layer also discussed in light of the measured global lunar permeability. Simultaneous magnetic field and solar plasma pressure measurements show that the remanent fields at the Apollo 12 and 16 sites interact with, and are compressed by, the solar wind. Velocities and thicknesses of the earth's magnetopause and bow shock were also estimated from simultaneous magnetometer measurements.

Dyal, P.↗
NASA NTRS1988

Cosmic-ray detectors on the Moon

The state of cosmic ray physics is reviewed. It is concluded that the nonexistent lunar magnetic field, the low lunar radiation background, and the lack of an atmosphere on the Moon provide an excellent environment for the study of high energy primary cosmic rays.

Linsley, John↗
NASA NTRS1974

Temperature and electrical conductivity of the lunar interior from magnetic transient measurements in the geomagnetic tail

Magnetometers were deployed at four Apollo sites on the moon to measure remanent and induced lunar magnetic fields. Measurements from this network of instruments were used to calculate the electrical conductivity, temperature, magnetic permeability, and iron abundance of the lunar interior. Global lunar fields due to eddy currents, induced in the lunar interior by magnetic transients in the geomagnetic tail field, were analyzed to calculate an electrical conductivity profile for the moon: the conductivity increases rapidly with depth from 10 to the minus 9 power mhos/meter at the lunar surface to .0001 mhos/meter at 200 km depth, then less rapidly to .02 mhos/meter at 1000 km depth. A temperature profile is calculated from conductivity: temperature rises rapidly with depth to 1100 K at 200 km depth, then less rapidly to 1800 K at 1000 km depth. Velocities and thicknesses of the earth's magnetopause and bow shock are estimated from simultaneous magnetometer measurements. Average speeds are determined to be about 50 km/sec for the magnetopause and 70 km/sec for the bow shock, although there are large variations in the measurements for any particular boundary crossing.

Dyal, P.↗
NASA NTRS1977

Lunar electrical conductivity, permeability and temperature from Apollo magnetometer experiments

Magnetometers were deployed at four Apollo sites on the moon to measure remanent and induced lunar magnetic fields. Measurements from this network of instruments were used to calculate the electrical conductivity, temperature, magnetic permeability, and iron abundance of the lunar interior. The measured lunar remanent fields range from 3 gammas minimum at the Apollo 15 site to 327 gammas maximum at the Apollo 16 site. Simultaneous magnetic field and solar plasma pressure measurements show that the remanent fields at the Apollo 12 and 16 sites interact with, and are compressed by, the solar wind. Remanent fields at Apollo 12 and Apollo 16 are increased 16 gammas and 32 gammas, respectively, by a solar plasma bulk pressure increase of 1.5 X 10 to the -7th power dynes/sq cm. Global lunar fields due to eddy currents, induced in the lunar interior by magnetic transients, were analyzed to calculate an electrical conductivity profile for the moon. From nightside magnetometer data in the solar wind it was found that deeper than 170 km into the moon the conductivity rises from .0003 mhos/m to .10 mhos/m at 100 km depth. Recent analysis of data obtained in the geomagnetic tail, in regions free of complicating plasma effects, yields results consistent with nightside values.

Dyal, P.↗