Sentences with phrase «magnetized terrain»

This magnetized terrain dates back at least 3.7 billion to 3.9 billion years, so the researchers deduce that ancient Mercury had a dynamo in which electrically conducting fluids inside its iron - rich core generated the field.

NASA deliberately crashed the MESSENGER spacecraft into the planet last week; during its final year of life, the craft repeatedly skirted close to the surface, detecting magnetized terrain, such as over the volcanic plains shown in blue here (blue denotes low elevations and red, high elevations).