• Question: if we discovered that a certain planet had a large magnetic force in their core, then could it be possible to use it to send in magnetic experiments to examine the landscape and climate on the planets? thanks :) p.s. i think this question would suit lidunka as she researches planets cores :)

    Asked by abbie tgs to Connor, Jillian, Lidunka, Sarah, Steven on 15 Jun 2015.
    • Photo: Lidunka Vocadlo

      Lidunka Vocadlo answered on 15 Jun 2015:

      @abbie tgs Well lots of planets have magnetic cores, but the magnetism is caused by different processes. I’m not sure magnetism itself would help in the investigation of the landscape and surface. Better would be landers with seismometers (to look at the interior) and cameras and spectrometers to look at the surface.

    • Photo: Jillian Scudder

      Jillian Scudder answered on 19 Jun 2015:

      I like the idea of having a super intense magnet at the core of a planet, and dropping in the other end of the magnet, and having them zip together 🙂 If you sent a probe that was only sensitive to the magnetic field, you’d be able to go map out the magnetic field, and that’s it! Usually we’re after more information than that at a time, so we tend to attach a whole bunch of instruments at once so we can observe as many things at the same time as possible!

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