Open AccessMars has crustal, complex magnetic field
Author(s) -
Showstack Randy
Publication year - 1997
Publication title -
eos, transactions american geophysical union
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.316
H-Index - 86
eISSN - 2324-9250
pISSN - 0096-3941
DOI - 10.1029/97eo00274
Subject(s) - mars exploration program , dynamo , planet , satellite , magnetometer , geology , astrobiology , field (mathematics) , geophysics , dynamo theory , astronomy , magnetic field , physics , remote sensing , mathematics , quantum mechanics , pure mathematics
Scientists working on the Mars Global Surveyor project announced last week that new satellite evidence indicates that the magnetic field around Mars is most likely of crustal rather than dynamo origin. They also say that the field is much stronger than previously anticipated and that it could greatly vary in strength in different locations on the planet. “Based on evidence collected over several orbits, we now have strong evidence that the field is of crustal origin,” says Mario Acuña, an astrophysicist at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center who is the principal investigator for the magnetometer and electron reflectometer instruments on the satellite.