Solar storms could "sandblast" the moon

[Pharaoh Cat]

http://www.nasa.gov/topics/solarsystem/features/dream-cme.html

The moon has just the barest wisp of an atmosphere, technically called an exosphere because it is so tenuous, which leaves it vulnerable to CME effects. The plasma from CMEs impacts the lunar surface, and atoms from the surface are ejected in a process called "sputtering."

- snip -

"Sputtering is among the top five processes that create the moon's exosphere under normal solar conditions, but our model predicts that during a CME, it becomes the dominant method by far, with up to 50 times the yield of the other methods," says Killen, lead author of a paper on this research appearing in a special issue of the Journal of Geophysical Research Planets.

While the above was interesting, I was especially struck by this:

In addition to removing a surprisingly large amount of material from the lunar surface, this could be a major method of atmospheric loss for planets like Mars that are unprotected by a global magnetic field.

That tells me that when humanity finally terraforms Mars, one thing we'll have to do, early in the process, is set up a gigantic electromagnet to simulate what we have, thanks to geology, here on Earth.

[xSilverPhinx]

It seems that Mars could've had a magnetic sphere long ago, but lost it when its core "froze".

Looks like we'd have to terraform just pockets for future civilization rather than the whole planet...I seriously don't know where the energy needed for the whole planet would come from ???

[Pharaoh Cat]

It seems that Mars could've had a magnetic sphere long ago, but lost it when its core "froze".

Interesting.

Looks like we'd have to terraform just pockets for future civilization rather than the whole planet...I seriously don't know where the energy needed for the whole planet would come from ???

The sun!  I'm guessing the first step in terraforming would be to drop fast-multiplying algae at key locations, in some liquid the algae can live in but which doesn't freeze at Martian temperatures.

[Will]

Wormsign....

[Siz]

Wormsign....

Mmmmm, Shai_Hulud...

[The Magic Pudding]

Wormsign....

Mmmmm, Shai_Hulud...

May His passing cleanse the world.