scholarly journals Interaction of the Solar Wind with the Moon

1972 ◽  
pp. 159-205 ◽  
Author(s):  
Norman F. Ness
Keyword(s):  
Solar Wind ◽  
The Moon

Foreshock ULF fluctuations near the Moon: THEMIS observations

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna Salohub ◽  
Jana Šafránková ◽  
Zdeněk Němeček
Keyword(s):  
Solar Wind ◽  
Rest Frame ◽  
Low Frequency ◽  
Solar Wind Plasma ◽  
Turbulent Plasma ◽  
Bow Shock ◽  
Ulf Waves ◽  
The Moon ◽  
Shock Surface ◽  
The Earth

<p>The foreshock is a region filled with a turbulent plasma located upstream the Earth’s bow shock where interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) lines are connected to the bow shock surface. In this region, ultra-low frequency (ULF) waves are generated due to the interaction of the solar wind plasma with particles reflected from the bow shock back into the solar wind. It is assumed that excited waves grow and they are convected through the solar wind/foreshock, thus the inner spacecraft (close to the bow shock) would observe larger wave amplitudes than the outer (far from the bow shock) spacecraft. The paper presents a statistical analysis of excited ULF fluctuations observed simultaneously by two closely separated THEMIS spacecraft orbiting the Moon under a nearly radial IMF. We found that ULF fluctuations (in the plasma rest frame) can be characterized as a mixture of transverse and compressional modes with different properties at both locations. We discuss the growth and/or damping of ULF waves during their propagation.</p>

scholarly journals Remotely distinguishing and mapping endogenic water on the Moon

2017 ◽  
Vol 375 (2094) ◽  
pp. 20150391 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rachel L. Klima ◽  
Noah E. Petro
Keyword(s):  
Solar Wind ◽  
Spatial Distribution ◽  
Solar System ◽  
The Moon ◽  
Testing Hypotheses ◽  
Origin And Evolution ◽  
Lunar Interior ◽  
Geological Features ◽  
Insight Into

Water and/or hydroxyl detected remotely on the lunar surface originates from several sources: (i) comets and other exogenous debris; (ii) solar-wind implantation; (iii) the lunar interior. While each of these sources is interesting in its own right, distinguishing among them is critical for testing hypotheses for the origin and evolution of the Moon and our Solar System. Existing spacecraft observations are not of high enough spectral resolution to uniquely characterize the bonding energies of the hydroxyl molecules that have been detected. Nevertheless, the spatial distribution and associations of H, OH − or H 2 O with specific lunar lithologies provide some insight into the origin of lunar hydrous materials. The global distribution of OH − /H 2 O as detected using infrared spectroscopic measurements from orbit is here examined, with particular focus on regional geological features that exhibit OH − /H 2 O absorption band strengths that differ from their immediate surroundings. This article is part of the themed issue ‘The origin, history and role of water in the evolution of the inner Solar System’.

Solar Wind‐Induced Water Cycle on the Moon

2018 ◽  
Vol 45 (20) ◽  
Author(s):  
Brant M. Jones ◽  
Alex Aleksandrov ◽  
K. Hibbitts ◽  
M. D. Dyar ◽  
Thomas M. Orlando
Keyword(s):  
Solar Wind ◽  
Water Cycle ◽  
The Moon

scholarly journals Water on the Moon

2015 ◽  
Vol 11 (A29B) ◽  
pp. 402-406 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yvonne J. Pendleton
Keyword(s):  
Solar Wind ◽  
Thermal Cycling ◽  
Volcanic Glass ◽  
Glass Beads ◽  
The Moon ◽  
Modern Equipment ◽  
Know How ◽  
The Earth ◽  
The World

AbstractAfter years of thinking the Moon is dry, we now know there are three manifestations in which water appears on the Moon today: 1) Previously hypothesized buried deposits of volatiles at the lunar poles were found at Cabeus crater. There are questions about the origin of such volatiles (i.e., in-falling comets & meteorites, migration of recently formed surficial OH/H2O, and accumulated release from the interior), but there is no doubt the water is there. 2) Widespread, thinly-distributed, surficial OH (or H2O) has been clearly detected across all types of lunar terrain. The consensus is that the OH is derived from solar wind, but we do not know how quickly it forms, nor how mobile it is. 3) The amount of water present soon after the Moon formed is now documented in new analyses of lunar materials in volcanic glass beads, apatites and plagioclase feldspars. Apollo era sample analyses were not precise enough to distinguish between indigenous lunar water and terrestrial contamination. Measurements with modern equipment are more precise (both elemental and isotopic), and can better constrain a host of processes (e.g. diffusion, thermal cycling). Scientists around the world are studying lunar water. Ongoing analyses are informing a number of hypotheses and theories about the connection between the Earth and its wet Moon.

scholarly journals Investigating the Retention of Solar Wind Implanted Helium-3 on the Moon from the Analysis of Multi-Wavelength Remote Sensing Data

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (20) ◽  
pp. 3350
Author(s):  
Shashwat Shukla ◽  
Valentyn Tolpekin ◽  
Shashi Kumar ◽  
Alfred Stein
Keyword(s):  
Remote Sensing ◽  
Solar Wind ◽  
Remote Sensing Data ◽  
Physical Nature ◽  
The Moon ◽  
Near Surface ◽  
Energy Demands ◽  
Multi Wavelength ◽  
High Dielectric ◽  
Weathering Effects

The Moon has a large potential for space exploration and mining valuable resources. In particular, 3He provides rich sources of non-radioactive fusion fuel to fulfill cislunar and Earth’s energy demands, if found economically feasible. The present study focuses on developing advanced techniques to prospect 3He resources on the Moon from multi-sensor remote sensing perspectives. It characterizes optical changes in regolith materials due to space weathering as a new retention parameter and introduces a novel machine learning inversion model for retrieving the physical properties of the regolith. Our analysis suggests that the reddening of the soil predominantly governs the retention, along with attenuated mafic band depths. Moreover, semi-variograms show that the spatial variability of 3He is aligned with the episodic weathering events at different timescales. We also observed that pyroclastic regoliths with high dielectric constant and increased surface scattering mechanisms exhibited a 3He abundant region. For ejecta cover, the retention was weakly associated with the dielectric contrast and a circular polarization ratio (CPR), mainly because of the 3He-deficient nature of the regolith. Furthermore, cross-variograms revealed inherent cyclicity attributed to the sequential process of weathering effects. Our study provides new insights into the physical nature and near-surface alterations of lunar regoliths that influence the spatial distribution and retention of solar wind implanted 3He.

scholarly journals Untangling the formation and liberation of water in the lunar regolith

2019 ◽  
Vol 116 (23) ◽  
pp. 11165-11170 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cheng Zhu ◽  
Parker B. Crandall ◽  
Jeffrey J. Gillis-Davis ◽  
Hope A. Ishii ◽  
John P. Bradley ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Solar Wind ◽  
Hydroxyl Radicals ◽  
Laboratory Experiments ◽  
Synergistic Effects ◽  
Lunar Regolith ◽  
Laboratory Simulation ◽  
The Moon ◽  
Imaging Studies ◽  
Simulation Experiments ◽  
Proton Implantation

The source of water (H2O) and hydroxyl radicals (OH), identified on the lunar surface, represents a fundamental, unsolved puzzle. The interaction of solar-wind protons with silicates and oxides has been proposed as a key mechanism, but laboratory experiments yield conflicting results that suggest that proton implantation alone is insufficient to generate and liberate water. Here, we demonstrate in laboratory simulation experiments combined with imaging studies that water can be efficiently generated and released through rapid energetic heating like micrometeorite impacts into anhydrous silicates implanted with solar-wind protons. These synergistic effects of solar-wind protons and micrometeorites liberate water at mineral temperatures from 10 to 300 K via vesicles, thus providing evidence of a key mechanism to synthesize water in silicates and advancing our understanding on the origin of water as detected on the Moon and other airless bodies in our solar system such as Mercury and asteroids.

scholarly journals Induced and Permanent Magnetism on the Moon: Structural and Evolutionary Implications

1971 ◽  
Vol 2 ◽  
pp. 173-188
Author(s):  
C. P. Sonett ◽  
P. Dyal ◽  
D. S. Colburn ◽  
B. F. Smith ◽  
G. Schubert ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Magnetic Field ◽  
Solar Wind ◽  
Dynamic Pressure ◽  
Wind Pressure ◽  
Dark Side ◽  
The Moon ◽  
Permanent Magnetic Field ◽  
Crustal Layer ◽  
Induced Field ◽  
Solar Wind Pressure

AbstractIt is shown that the Moon possesses an extraordinary response to induction from the solar wind due to a combination of a high interior electrical conductivity together with a relatively resistive crustal layer into which the solar wind dynamic pressure forces back the induced field. The dark side response, devoid of solar wind pressure, is approximately that expected for the vacuum case. These data permit an assessment of the interior conductivity and an estimate of the thermal gradient in the crustal region. The discovery of a large permanent magnetic field at the Apollo 12 site corresponds approximately to the paleomagnetic residues discovered in both Apollo 11 and 12 rock samples The implications regarding an early lunar magnetic field are discussed and it is shown that among the various conjectures regarding the early field the most prominent are either an interior dynamo or an early approach to the Earth though no extant model is free of difficulties.

Solar-wind flow behind the Moon

1968 ◽  
Vol 73 (13) ◽  
pp. 4281-4289 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. A. Wolf
Keyword(s):  
Solar Wind ◽  
Wind Flow ◽  
The Moon ◽  
Solar Wind Flow
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