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3.2 billion-year-old surprise: Earth had strong magnetic field

04-04-2007 · EurekAlert!

Geophysicists at the University of Rochester announce in today's issue of Nature that the Earth's magnetic field was nearly as strong 3.2 billion years ago as it is today.The findings, which are contrary to previous studies, suggest that even in its earliest stages the Earth was already well protected from the solar wind, which can strip away a planet’s atmosphere and bathe its surface in lethal radiation.

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Keywords: billion-year-old, surprise, earth, strong, magnetic, field, billion, year, old

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