Moon patterns explained
Electric fields enveloping magnetic bubbles create lunar swirls
http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/342189/title/Moon_patterns_explained
This article makes me think that some sort of shield against high energy particles might be practical, though it is hard to judge the weight at this point. As I briefly discussed earlier, being able to block high-energy radiation (largely charged particles from the sun) is critical to the success of any long-term presence in space and this sounds like it might be a first small step in that direction. I have read about the idea of forming a plasma shield to protect against the heat of reentry, but don’t recall seeing if there was anything practical derived from that effort. The experiment described in this article shows the potential power of just a small magnetic field, so it gives me some hope.
