Emily Chan
Another theory is that the magnetic field causes electrically charged dust to rise and hover in the air while sorting the grains by size and composition. The final option suggests that the swirls were created by an ancient comet impact.
The turbulence in the cloud of ice and dust that surrounded the comet’s head would have scraped the lunar surface right before the collision, exposing fresh lunar material. The violence of the impact magnetized the surface.
A fourth possibility was presented recently, in which researchers proposed that the swirls were produced by magnetized lava under the moon’s surface.
Overall, the results of the new study seem to support several explanations rather than rule any out. More research will be needed to get down to the bottom of the lunar swirls mystery.
The study was published in The Planetary Science Journal.
