The latest data from the probe Messenger , which struck last week against the surface of Mercury, revealed that magnetic field Planet was formed almost 4 billion years ago, according to a study published in the Science .
These new data are an important step in the investigation of the planet closest to the Sun, one of the most difficult to analyze by scientists.
When the Messenger spacecraft flew near Mercury’s surface, just 15 kilometers away, the magnetometer data collected rocks and revealed that the magnetic field is very old, between 3000 700 and 3000 900 million years.
In fact, the world originated around the time that the Earth, dating from 4000 500 million years ago formed.
“The scientific data obtained by these recent observations are really interesting and what we have learned of the magnetic field is just the beginning,” said Catherine Johnson, a planetary scientist at the University of British Columbia in Canada and lead author of the study.
Mercury is the only planet in the Solar System , besides Earth, with similar magnetic field; and it is originated in movement of liquid iron core.
Messenger, a mission of 450 million dollars, was launched in August 2004 and in 2011 became the first spacecraft to orbit Mercury, which is especially complex because the planet moves faster than Earth (spacecraft It must travel about 104 000 607 kilometers per hour to reach it) and also face the heat of the sun.
The data provided to NASA probe are the first to come from the vicinity of Mercury from Mariner 10 sent, also American, between 1974 and 1975.
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