Lonar crater lake’s magnetic organisms probed in What on Earth?

Lonar crater lake
Lonar crater lake, which was formed by a meteorite in Maharashtra, India

What on Earth? on the Science Channel investigates the mysterious Lonar crater lake in India this week — including the magnetic organisms which lie inside it.

The almost perfectly circular lake formed in the Buldhana district of Maharashtra, India, when a meteorite struck earth thousands of years ago.

The organisms inside it then consumed magnetic materials and became magnetic themselves thanks to the magnetite inside them.

Now if you go near the lake with a compass or electronic equipment their readings can supposedly be distorted.

The findings were reported back in 2009 after scientists discovered the “magnetic bacteria”, with hopes that they could hold keys to life in the rest of the universe.

Also on the same episode of What on Earth?, the program looks at a monument buried under ground which helps understand a mystery in the Bible, and a shadow in the Pacific Ocean is investigated.

What on Earth? airs Tuesdays at 9/8c on Science Channel. 

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