From jo22395 at mit.edu  Mon Apr 20 16:01:01 2026
From: jo22395 at mit.edu (John B. Biersteker)
Date: Mon, 20 Apr 2026 20:01:01 +0000
Subject: [Baps] =?utf-8?q?PLS_4/21_=28Tomorrow!=29_=E2=80=94_Isaac_Narret?=
 =?utf-8?q?t_=E2=80=94_Magnetism_of_the_Moon_and_Mercury?=
Message-ID: <9CE45422-DDD7-40B1-A1A3-9ABBC5C80B70@mit.edu>

Hello planeteers!

I hope you are enjoying a good Marathon Monday / Patriots? Day. This week PLS is delighted to host MIT?s own Isaac Narrett. He will be joining us tomorrow to discuss how to interpret magnetic observations of the Moon and Mercury and the implications for these bodies? thermal histories and interiors. Please join us on Tuesday (4/21) at 12:30pm in 54-517 or on Zoom. Lunch will be provided (Teriyaki Yummy<https://www.teriyakiyummychelsea.com>) and we encourage you to arrive a bit early to get food.

Because Isaac is local, if you are interested in a one-on-one meeting he encourages you to email him to set one up at narrett at mit.edu<mailto:narrett at mit.edu>.

Talk details and Zoom information are below. We hope to see you there!

-John

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Magnetism of the Moon and Mercury

Abstract: Measurements of remanent magnetic fields can provide insight into planetary interiors and evolution, but their interpretation is often complicated by underdetermined magnetizing field intensities and crustal composition. In this talk, I will present work reducing these uncertainties to better explain the crustal magnetic field records of the Moon and Mercury and show how they can provide information on each body?s dynamo history and evolution. I will first demonstrate how the Moon's and Mercury's ancient crustal magnetic records could have been acquired when a weak dynamo field was amplified by impact-generated plasma. The feasibility of this mechanism allows us to explain the strongest measured crustal fields of the Moon and some components of Mercury?s remanent fields (but not all!). I will then revisit the unexplained components of Mercury?s remanent magnetization by coupling magnetohydrodynamic simulations of the ancient solar wind interaction with the planetary field to thermal cooling and magnetization models. These simulations indicate that the ancient dynamo must have been >10-100 times stronger than at present and rules out several hypothesized mechanisms for generating the early field, leaving Earth-like core convection as the most likely process.

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Zoom link: https://mit.zoom.us/j/97275591700
PW: 54100
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