The magnetosphere is the main force protecting Earth from the powerful solar radiation which constantly bombards our planet. Without it, our planet would quickly become an uninhabitable wasteland. Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have discovered that the Moon once had a powerful magnetic field twice as strong as that of Earth, but that it was weakened before petering out completely about one billion years ago. According to the researchers, who published their findings in this month's issue of the Science Advances journal, the Moon's magnetic field was powered by a powerful dynamo effect generated by a phenomenon known as 'core crystallization.' This phenomenon is said to have worked as follows: as the moon's inner core cooled and was crystalized, the core's electronically charged fluid was stirred buoyantly, producing the dynamo effect. Dr. Benjamin Weiss, MIT professor of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences and the study's coauthor, explained that the