Investigation of the Magnetic Field of the Moon

Abstract

This paper is devoted to a description of the problems related to the experiment and the experimental data concerning the field of the moon which were obtained during the flight of the second Soviet cosmic rocket.As a consequence of the analysis of the measuring apparatus' sensitivity threshold, according to measurement data in a weak geomagnetic field, some 45,000 to 60,000 km from the center of the earth, and of the analysis of noise level in the orbital space of the moon, coupled with measurements directly near the moon and up to 55 km from its surface, no notable magnetic field of the moon was revealed. It is estimated that the dipole magnetic moment of the moon must be smaller than 1/10,000 of the earth's magnetic moment.

Magnetism and the Interior of the Moon

“…impacted the lunar surface. The instrument aboard Luna 2 set an upper limit of 100 gammas (1 gamma = 10-5 gauss) for a possible lunar field at an altitude of about 50 km above the moon's surface (Dolginov, 1961). In April 1966, Luna 10, carrying a magnetometer 10 times more sensitive than that aboard Luna 2, was successfully placed in a lunar orbit that came to within 350 km of the moon (see Figure 1).…”

Magnetic storms in the Earth's magnetic tail

“…The sort of interaction that one should expect between the moon and the earth's magnetic tail is not completely clear. Previous attempts to measure a lunar magnetic field [Dolginov et al, 1961] have indicated that if such a field exists it must be less than 50-100 gammas at the surface. Thus the possible types of interaction seem to be limited to some sort of disturbance of the plasma in the tail.…”

Moon‐related nonthermal ions observed by Nozomi: Species, sources, and generation mechanisms

“…The first in situ observation of the lunar plasma environment was by the USSR Luna 2 and it revealed the absence of a noticeable lunar dipole magnetic field [ Dolginov et al , 1961].…”