Lunar Magnetic Anomalies and Surface Optical Properties

For typical solar wind conditions, lunar magnetic anomalies with dipole moments m >> 5 × 10¹³ gauss-cubic centimeters will strongly deflect the solar wind, producing local plasma voids at the lunar surface. The correlation of the largest observed anomalies (m ~ 10¹⁶ gauss-cubic centimeters) with unusual, relatively high albedo surface features may therefore imply that solar wind ion bombardment is an important determinant of the optical properties of the lunar surface.