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Coronal mass ejection arriving during a solar eclipse

 
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Dec29-11, 01:12 PM   #1
 

Coronal mass ejection arriving during a solar eclipse



Would a CME passing through the Moon's electrically conducting interior affect the Earth's magnetic field any differently than a CME that had not gone through the moon?
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Dec29-11, 02:05 PM   #2
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Quote by Zodiakos View Post
Would a CME passing through the Moon's electrically conducting interior...
The middle initial "M" in CME is short for "mass". Massive particles don't pass through the Moon, let alone get close to its small iron core.

The Moon essentially has no electromagnetic dynamo, so it's meager magnetic field isn't going to do much to the charged particles that pass close by the Moon.
Dec29-11, 09:31 PM   #3
 
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Your picture is for a solar eclipse - so it is over simplifying the situation and exaggerating the size of the lunar shadow on Earth. If memory serves, the shadow is less than 1% of the surface area of the Earth.

In addition, CMEs travel along the magnetic field lines, not along line of sight (as a photon would). So the CME has to be what is called 'magnetically connected' to the Earth for it to affect us.

As DH explained, the Moon does not affect the CME appreciably at Earth.
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