Astronomers are trying to unravel the mystery of unusual swirls
Scientists from Washington University in St. Louis said that strange light swirls on the Moon may be the result of magnetization of rocks by magma below the surface.
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A new study suggests that the vortices on the surface of Earth's moon Moon are caused by underground magma that magnetizes rocks on the surface. The mineral ilmenite is involved in this process. In 2025, NASA plans to send the Vertex lunar rover to study one of the vortices, called Rainer Gamma.
Lunar swirls are bright spots that appear to be painted on the moon's dark surface. Some are hundreds of kilometers long. Until now, it has been a mystery what causes them. Scientists know that rocks inside the swirls are magnetized, but the moon has no magnetic field. Some may be the result of meteorite impacts. But for others, the explanation may lie beneath the surface. Now, researchers at Washington University in St. Louis have proposed a new possibility: magma.
In reality, magnetized rocks deflect incoming particles from the solar wind. Instead, they hit the rocky surface outside the swirls, causing the color to darken. This is why the swirls appear brighter.
“Although the Moon has no magnetic field today, some regions of its crust, such as impact depressions and bright, sinuous features called lunar swirls, are still magnetized. The highly magnetized regions seen within the swirls may be due to iron-rich material produced by the impact,” the astronomers explain.
The mystery is why the stones are magnetized in the first place. With this in mind, scientists said meteorite impacts could cause some magnetic anomalies. Perhaps even some of the twists, but probably not all. Additionally, earlier research suggested comet impacts: “However, other magnetized regions, such as those associated with lunar vortices, are not so clearly associated with externally added materials.”
Researchers also believe that underground magma — This is a good option for the formation of mysterious marks. Lava pools must have their own localized magnetic fields. The theory is that there is lava underground that slowly cools in a magnetic field and creates a magnetic anomaly.
To test the theory, the researchers used a mineral called ilmenite, which is found in abundance on the Moon. Ilmenite can become magnetized under certain conditions. It is similar to magnetite on Earth, but the mineral is rare on the Moon. The researchers measured the effects of various combinations of atmospheric chemistry and magmatic cooling rates on ilmenite to try to magnetize it.
As lead author Yuanyuan Liang of Washington University in St. Louis noted: “The smaller particles we deal with worked, apparently creating stronger magnetic fields because the surface area to volume ratio of small particles is greater than that of large ones. With a larger exposed surface area, smaller particles are more easily susceptible to reduction reactions.”
In 2025, the Lunar Vertex mission will study the magnetic anomalies of the Moon. This includes sending a rover to the lunar vortex Reiner Gamma. Lunar Vertex will be NASA's first mission to deliver payloads and conduct scientific research on the lunar surface using privately built landers. On board there will be many cameras, a magnetometer and a plasma spectrometer.