NAU planetary science intern leads study of Martian crust – NAU News nau.edu - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from nau.edu Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
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The planet Mars has no global magnetic field, although scientists believe it did have one at some point in the past. Previous studies suggest that when Mars global magnetic field was present, it was approximately the same strength as Earth s current field. Surprisingly, instruments from past Mars missions, both orbiters and landers, have spotted patches on the planet s surface that are strongly magnetized a property that could not have been produced by a magnetic field similar to Earth s, assuming the rocks on both planets are similar.
Ahmed AlHantoobi, an intern working with Northern Arizona University planetary scientists, assistant professor Christopher Edwards and postdoctoral scholar Jennifer Buz in NAU s Department of Astronomy and Planetary Science, led a study looking for answers to explain these magnetic anomalies. The team explored the relationships between the strength of the magnetic field on the surface and the composition of the crust in the Terra Sirenum-T