Is a planets gravity and magnetic field the same or are they two different things?

Question

I read a paper on the Messenger Fly-By of Mercury and it stated that Mercury and Earth were the only two inter planets that had a magnetic field. I thought all heavenely bodies had a magnetic field.

Additionally, the article stated that being so close to the sun, the solar wind blew the magnetosphere very close to the surface on the windward side and that it was elongated on the backside of the planet.

Answer 1

Just to add to the discussion-- you need something in the core of the planet that GENERATES a magnetic field-- on Earth it is our molten iron core..... acting like a BIG electromagnetic generator......  and creating a magnetic field around the Earth.

The solar winds push against the magnetic field around the Earth and distort it as your article described.

Answer 2

They are distinctly different.  Every physical object (planets, people, etc.) exerts gravity on the objects around it, the amount of which is based on it's mass and the distance between the two objects.  

The magnetic field of a planet is based upon the characteristics of the planet's core.

Answer 3

a planet usualy has a magnetic field if its core is made of molten iron :), some planets have a powerful magnetic field while other planets have a weaker one, it depends on the size of the planet, mercury is smaller than earth and closer to the sun and as such its magnetic field is weaker and pushed back by the force of the solar winds but the magnetic field cannot be destroyed by those winds because its role is to deflect them :)...thats what protects earth from powerful solar energy bursts, without a magnetic field on the next solar freak wave all life on earth would be eradicated turning the planet into a barren lifeless rock :)...gravity is what keeps you on the ground :)...the bigger the planet the stronger its gravity is :)

Answer 4

Gravity is just the attraction of one mass to another.

Magnetic field is what holds the ozone layer up there that protects us. The solar winds cause current to flow in the magnetic field . There is a huge current that is created and the north pole is negative and the south pole is positive. This supplies the potential that holds O3 as O3. Without the charge it would drop to O2 .