1
00:00:03,537 --> 00:00:06,306
Some of the strangest but most
beautiful features on the moon

2
00:00:06,306 --> 00:00:10,544
are lunar swirls. The most
famous one, Reiner Gamma, is a

3
00:00:10,544 --> 00:00:13,647
favorite target of backyard
telescopes. Using data from the

4
00:00:13,647 --> 00:00:17,184
Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, we
now know swirls are the result

5
00:00:17,184 --> 00:00:19,419
of local magnetic fields in the
moon’s crust that act like

6
00:00:19,419 --> 00:00:22,422
stencils, selectively blocking
radiation from the sun and

7
00:00:22,422 --> 00:00:25,459
causing parts of the surface to
weather at different rates –

8
00:00:25,459 --> 00:00:28,996
producing interesting patterns
and coloration.