Evidence of water under the shadow of shakes or locks in glass beads like microscopic snowflakes has recently revealed that the lunar surface is much smaller than we ever thought.
Just where this veneer of ice water came from is a mystery that astronomers are currently trying to solve. One amazing opportunity is the emergence of elemental water from our own atmosphere, delivered by the Earth’s magnetic field.
Water is not just a rare substance in space. Finding suitable places to hide can slow it around the interior of asteroids, cover comets, and even adhere sensitively to the darkness of Mercury craters.
It makes sense for at least some of it to rain on the Moon now and then. But with the scorching heat of the sun and lack of protection from space, it is not expected to last very long.
To describe the incredible amount of muscle found on the lunar surface, researchers have proposed a more dynamic form of production – a stable ‘water’ of proteins driven by the solar wind. These hydrogen ions smoke into mineral oxygen in the dust and rocks of the moon, tearing chemical bonds apart and forming a loose, temporary alliance with the oxygen.
It is a strong hypothesis, one that would be energized by observing the more open (and more diffuse) water molecules move rapidly to an empty space when the Moon is sheltered from the wind.
Our own planet happens to be well protected from the constant wind of ions blown from the Sun, thanks to bubbles of magnetism around it. Not only does this force field surround us, it is blown into a drop-down shape by the solar attack.
For a few days each month, the Moon passes through this magnetosphere, receiving brief relief from the solar proton current.
An international team of researchers recently used plasma instruments and magnetic fields on the Japanese orbiter Kaguya to mark this exact time in the lunar orbit. Spectrum data from the Chandrayaan-1 (M3) Lunar Mineralogy Map were then used to map water circulation over the lunar surface at the highest latitudes.
The results were not as expected.
In a short time, nothing happened. The time series of the lunar aquatic signature did not show much difference in the three to five days hidden from the solar wind.
These results may mean a few things. One is that the hypothesis of solar wind is entirely rust, while other reservoirs rely on the surface water of the moon to recharge.
But another interesting possibility is that we don’t have to dig up the idea of a solar wind that the Earth’s magnetic field just builds where the sun goes.
Previous research has suggested that the plasma sheet associated with our planet’s magnetosphere could deliver about the same amount of hydrogen ions as the solar wind, especially toward the lunar poles.
Not all are delivered with the same amount of punch, they have to admit, but the researchers acknowledge that even the heavy-duty hydrogen ion could produce more than the fair share. of water. And it may be easier to replace them with low-energy proteins, so they are less likely to fall apart in the times after their formation.
Oxygen from the highest levels of the atmosphere above our poles is also likely to be transported over the empty field to collide with the Moon, especially during periods of enhanced geomagnetic activity.
If this all looks a bit speculative, that’s because. Right now, we only have a pretty impressive water map that doesn’t align with our favorite models.
But it points to some interesting new directions for the emerging field of Moon hydrodynamics. Since the researchers did not map the circulation of the water at higher latitudes, it is worth looking closer at the equator for the expected losses in the future.
From a practical point of view, we may have to rely heavily on a replenishing supply of lunar freezing for fuel and one-day life support, if the Moon becomes a stepping stone for space exploration.
If nothing else, we are slowly building an understanding of the water cycle in space that will help us better understand the connections between our planet and the one natural satellite that exists.
This research was published in the Astrophysical Journal Letters.