Abstract
A key result from the Apollo program was an acceptable model for the origin of the moon, in the form of a collision with Earth of a Mars size impacter. The moon then forms from the material remaining in orbit around thy earth. This model cast some doubt about the presence in the moon of enough iron for the core needed for a lunar dynamo, but it does permit a small core. Recently, a core of about 300 km has been “seen” by two groups of seismologists. Moreover, there is a solid inner core surrounded by a fluid outer core similar to Earth, but on a much smaller scale. Questions remain concerning the energy source to maintain a dynamo for nearly a billion years in so small a core.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.
Buying options
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Learn about institutional subscriptionsNotes
- 1.
Hartmann et al. (1986). This book provides the proceedings including key papers on the origin of the Moon.
- 2.
- 3.
There are several “popular” books on Meteorites such as Falling stars: a guide to Meteors and Metorites, 2nd Edition. Mike D. Reynolds, 2010, Stackpole books, Meteorites by Smith, C., Russell, S., and Benedix, G., 2010, Firefly Books Ltd., Meteorites and their Parent Bodies, McSween, 1999, Cambridge University Press is a little more technical, but very entertaining, A technical reference for early solar system matters is The Treatise on Geochemistry Volume 1, Meteorites, Comets and Planets, 2004, Ed. Davis A.M. It contains review papers on the Classification of Meteorites, Chondrules, the Origin and Earliest history of the Earth, Early Solar system chronology, and the Moon.
- 4.
Courtesy Jim Vanyo and Bob Dunn. See also Vanyo (1991), Vanyo and Dunn (2000). These papers show that flows with sufficient complexity can be generated by precession to make dynamo action feasible. There is a far larger literature investigating precession as a possible energy source for dynamo action.
References
Dwyer CA, Stevenson DJ, Nimmo F (2011) A long-lived lunar dynamo driven by continuous mechanical stirring. Nature 479:212–214
Garcia RF, Gagnepain-Beyneix J, Chevrot S, Logonn P (2010) Very preliminary reference moon model. Phys Earth Planet Inter 188:96–113
Hartmann WK, Phillips RJ, Taylor GJ (eds) 1986 Origin of the moon
Konrad W, Spohn T (1997) Thermal history of the Moon: implications for an early core dynamo and post-accretional magmatism. Adv Space Res 19(10):1511–1521
Le Bars M, Wieczorek MA, Kartekin O, Cebron D, Laneuville M (2011) An impact-driven dynamo for the early Moon. Nature 479:215–217
Scott ERD (2007) Chondrites and the Protoplanetary Disk. Ann Rev Earth Planet Sci 35:577–620 (This provides an exhaustive discussion of Chondrules, Chondrites and the early solar system)
Vanyo JP (1991) A geodynamo powered by luni-solar precession. Geophys Astrophys Fluid Dyn 59:209–234
Vanyo JP, Dunn JR (2000) Core precession: flow structures and energy. Geophys J Int 142:409–425
Weber RC, Lin P-Y, Garenro EJ, Williams Q, Logonné P (2011) Seismic detection of the lunar core. Science 331:309–312
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2014 The Author(s)
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Fuller, M. (2014). Lunar Magnetism in the Grand Scheme of Lunar History. In: Our Beautiful Moon and its Mysterious Magnetism. SpringerBriefs in Earth Sciences. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-00278-1_10
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-00278-1_10
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-00277-4
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-00278-1
eBook Packages: Earth and Environmental ScienceEarth and Environmental Science (R0)