The lunar swirl mystery deepens because scientists previously thought that lunar swirls weren’t related to the surrounding topography. However, new evidence published recently in The Planetary Science Journal suggests that lunar swirls are, in fact, correlated with topography. This means that the bright markings occur at different elevations than their darker surroundings.
Lunar swirls resemble bright, snaky clouds painted on the Moon’s dark surface. They may be a relic of the Moon’s ancient volcanic activity and an internally generated magnetic field.
Other theories about lunar swirls include:
- Interactions between the solar wind and magnetic regions on the Moon
- The swirls represent exposed silicate materials whose albedos have been selectively preserved over time from the effects of space weathering via deflection of solar wind ion bombardment
For years, people noticed strange features on the Moon dubbed “Lunar Swirls.” They’re bright regions that appear to be concentrations of lighter-colored material on the surface. It turns out that interactions between the solar wind and magnetic regions on the Moon may play a role at two sites.
Lunar swirls are strange, twisted-looking patches on the moon’s surface that shine brightly because they reflect high levels of sunlight. They are characterized by having a high albedo, appearing optically immature, and having a sinuous shape. Their curvilinear shape is often accentuated by low albedo regions that wind between the bright swirls.
Lunar swirls are areas of contrasting light and dark streaks spread across the moon’s surface, and they occur on all types of terrain, from visibly dark patches known as mare to the brighter highlands.
The origin of lunar swirls remains a mystery. However, interactions between the solar wind and magnetic regions on the Moon may play a role. For example, pockets of magnetic anomalies act as a sunscreen, shielding the brighter parts of the lunar surface from solar radiation and “sunburn”.
NASA is funding a Moon mission to the magnetic swirl of Reiner Gamma. The mission’s primary payload suite Lunar Vertex is a collection of spectrometers and magnetometers on the lander and a rover.
NASA’s first mission to a lunar swirl is to the magnetic swirl of Reiner Gamma. The mission is expected to provide insights into how swirls form and evolve, and better understand the effects of the solar wind and micrometeorites on planetary bodies across the solar system.
NASA’s IM0-3 mission is tentatively scheduled for 2024. The mission will send a spacecraft to the lunar surface to explore “one of the most distinctive and enigmatic natural features on the Moon”.
Lunar swirls are bright, often sinuous features with the appearance of abstract paintings. They are unique to the Moon. They are twisted-looking patches on the moon that shine brightly because they reflect high levels of sunlight.
New observations from NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) have revealed that swirls across the lunar surface are connected to changes in the moon’s physical features.
Swirls across the lunar surface are connected to changes in the moon’s physical features after all, new observations from NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) have revealed. Lunar swirls are twisted-looking patches on the moon that shine brightly because they reflect high levels of sunlight
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