Our Magnetic Moon

Lunar swirls are complex optical structures on the Moon with distinct albedo signatures. They occur in both mare and highland terrain, and are strongly correlated with crustal magnetic anomalies. Recent research has suggested the formation of lunar swirls is related to the shielding of solar wind from these magnetic anomalies, through a shift in certain electromagnetic wavelength peaks relative to the surrounding regolith. We have combined current models and methods to investigate how diffuse patterns could form, exploring the effect of field superposition from several weak, permanently magnetized crustal sources. We are working on a model of diffuse swirl formation using dipole and electric field modeling, with current emphasis on Reiner Gamma.