Earth Has Had a Magnetosphere Longer Than Previously Thought

This article is actually another hint as to why Mars probably does not have life now even though it is about the Earth's magnetosphere. Apparently, recent tests have shown that Earth has had a strong magnetosphere longer than previously thought. This means that Earth's atmosphere was protected earlier from radiation and the solar wind. Mars was not so lucky most scientists think. This discovery about Earth, however, deflates any arguments that Earth may have somehow been able to survive for a while without protection (and hence so could have Mars). It proves that a planet reallly needs a magnetosphere in order to keep its atmosphere. The same scientist is now looking to see if the magnetosphere was around even longer ago, which more obliterate any hope that Mars could have kept its atmosphere without also having a magnetosphere.