Friday April 17th at 4 pm in Lind 215
The Enigmatic Lunar Swirls
Erika Harnett
Research Associate Professor
Department of Earth and Space Sciences
University of Washington
The lunar swirls are localized regions of high albedo on the lunar surface, first discovered
during the Apollo era. At the time it was also discovered that most lunar swirls are co-located
with regions of localized magnetized rock, called magnetic anomalies. This leads to many ideas
regarding the relationship between the magnetic anomalies and the swirls. Only recently, with
observations by satellites like Lunar Prospector, Kaguya, Chandrayaan-1 and LADEE, has one
theory began to emerge as the most likely candidate. Observations indicate that the magnetic
anomalies can deflect the incoming solar wind, that darkens (and weathers) the lunar regolith
upon impact. This is not without controversy, as the concept up-ends previously held ideas
regarding the effectiveness of localized magnetic fields on modifying the plasma of the solar
wind. I will discuss the history of lunar swirls, recent observations and simulations I have
conducted regarding the effectiveness of the lunar magnetic anomalies in deflecting incoming
solar wind particles.