Disentangling magnetic signals in its ancient rocks gives an updated view of the paleocontinent’s position during the Ediacaran period.
magnetic fields & magnetism
Posted inNews
Moon Mission Data Reveal Unexpected Cosmic Ray “Shadow”
A particle detector on the Chang’e-4 lunar lander showed a surprising zone of reduced radiation stretching out from Earth at a strange angle, with potential implications for future astronauts.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
What Makes Mars’s Magnetotail Flap?
Spacecraft reveal a key driver of up-and-down motions of thin, current-carrying plasma sheets on the nightside of Mars.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Navigating the Past with Ancient Stone Compass Needles
The emerging field of magnetic microscopy allows scientists to reconstruct ancient magnetic fields from individual magnetic particles. A new study evaluates the accuracy of the technique.
Posted inEditors' Highlights
Timing of Geomagnetic Storms Shapes Their Impact
The impact of geomagnetic storms, which can disrupt satellites, GPS, and power grids, is shown to depend on their onset timing.
Posted inEditors' Highlights
How Sediment Magnetism Captures the South Atlantic Anomaly
Magnetic data from an ODP core deposited during normal secular variation (65-41 thousand years ago) off the Chilean margin help clarify geomagnetic field behavior in the South Atlantic Anomaly region.
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Apollo Samples Told a Conflicting Story About Lunar Magnetism, Until Now
Observations suggested the Moon had both a weak and strong magnetic field in the distant past. A new study presents a theory accommodating all the evidence.
Posted inEditors' Highlights
Detecting Remagnetization with Quantum Diamond Microscopy
Scientists reconstruct the magnetization timeline of serpentinized rocks from the Troodos ophiolite by investigating remanent magnetization-carrying structures with a Quantum Diamond Microscope.
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Credible or Counterfeit: How Paleomagnetism Can Help Archaeologists Find Frauds
Duplicating artifacts that preserve records from biblical times is a lucrative business. A method used for both dating artifacts and reconstructing Earth’s history could identify phony pieces.
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The Long and the Weak of It—The Ediacaran Magnetic Field
A roughly 70-million-year interval of anomalously weak magnetic field during the Ediacaran period could have triggered atmospheric changes that supported the rise of macroscopic life.