Articles tagged with Solar Wind
Researchers at UNH have developed a supercomputer using PlayStation3 consoles to simulate the interaction between Earth's magnetic field and the solar wind. The new system can perform up to 8 trillion operations per second, paving the way for future civilian teraflop machines.
A study finds that east Siberia's permafrost contains 500 Gt of frozen carbon deposits susceptible to disturbances from climate warming. The permafrost's irreversible thawing could release 2-2.8 Gt of carbon into the atmosphere annually between 2300 and 2400, transforming 74% of the initial carbon stock.
The Solar Probe mission will study the streams of charged particles emitted by the sun, exploring the processes that heat its corona and produce solar wind. The spacecraft will zip past the sun at speeds up to 125 miles per second, gathering data on magnetic fields, energy flow, and energetic particle formation.
Nikolai Pogorelov, a UC Riverside researcher, has been awarded 850,000 processor hours on the seventh fastest computer in the world to study the outer heliosphere and its interaction with interstellar medium. The research will help plan future space missions and analyze fluxes of galactic cosmic rays.
A NASA fleet of spacecraft has made significant discoveries about Northern Lights, revealing giant magnetic ropes and small explosions in the Earth's magnetic field. The THEMIS mission observed a rapidly developing substorm, confirming the existence of these structures and witnessing vivid auroras for over two hours.
The Voyager 2 spacecraft has detected a strong magnetic field in the interstellar region, distorting the bubble of outflowing gas from the sun. Additionally, the temperature was found to be ten times cooler than expected just outside the boundary, sparking new explanations.
Voyager 2 has entered the heliosheath, a vast region at the edge of our solar system where the solar wind meets interstellar space. The spacecraft's Plasma Science instrument provided direct measurements of the solar wind, revealing an unusual shock wave with lower temperatures than predicted.
The Hinode space mission has made groundbreaking discoveries about the Sun's surface and atmosphere, shedding light on long-standing mysteries. Researchers found evidence of Alfvén waves, which could heat the corona to extreme temperatures and accelerate the solar wind.
Hinode satellite data sheds light on sun's magnetic field and solar wind formation, revealing Alfvén waves play a critical role in driving the solar wind. Magnetic reconnection and convective motions also contribute to its creation.
Computer simulation predicts Voyager 2 will reach major milestone in space, crossing the 'termination shock' one more time in mid-2008. The spacecraft's expected crossing of the spherical shell marks a significant event in its journey into interstellar space.
Scientists analyzed neon and argon samples from NASA's Genesis mission to determine the isotopic composition of noble gases in the sun. The results show that the isotopic composition is consistent across different regimes of solar wind, indicating that measuring solar wind samples can represent the solar corona.
Researchers have made significant discoveries in the AGU journal, including a new understanding of booming sand dunes, a reduction in the North Asian monsoon's incursion since AD 1400, and improvements in global ocean analysis. The study on booming sand dunes reveals that sound waves channeled through the dune amplify as they construct...
CMEs can produce radiation storms, but detecting them through radio signals may provide warning to astronauts and satellite operators. Strong CME shocks accelerate particles in the solar wind, producing both radio signals and radiation storms.
Researchers at the University of Warwick have found fractal patterns in the solar wind that correspond to the Sun's 'storm season', indicating complex magnetic field activity. This discovery could improve our understanding of space weather and its impact on cosmic ray flux, as well as inform the development of fusion power.
The US Naval Academy is partnering with NASA to build a satellite called MidSTAR-2, which will carry four experiments into space in 2011. The satellite will study the Earth's thermosphere, gamma rays, and solar winds, providing valuable insights into these phenomena.
Michael Shay, a UD assistant professor of physics and astronomy, received an NSF Faculty Early Career Development Award to study magnetic reconnection and its impact on space weather. His research aims to predict solar storms and protect astronauts and satellites.
New findings indicate that near-Earth space weather is driven by the merging rate of Earth's and sun's magnetic fields, not solar wind's electric field. Researchers developed a formula predicting 10 types of space weather activity, including aurora and magnetic disturbances.
Researchers have discovered that giant whirlpools of electrically charged gas above the Earth inject electrified gas into the planet's magnetic environment. The whirlpools, known as Kelvin-Helmholtz instabilities, cause magnetic reconnection events that redirect plasma along new routes.
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute researchers are creating a distributed power test-bed to examine the effects of widespread adoption of clean, renewable energy sources on the utility grid. The project aims to understand how small-scale renewable energy generators will interact with the existing grid and identify potential stability iss...
The Cluster quartet encountered electron diffusion regions 19 times in one hour, measuring accelerated electrons and gaining invaluable insights into the process of magnetic reconnection. This phenomenon releases energy through electron diffusion regions, which may hold the key to preventing reconnection events in nuclear reactors.
Scientists discovered a consistent relationship between lightning strikes and ice content in clouds, supporting previous physics assumptions. In contrast, dense solar winds sometimes weaken auroral electrojets by compressing the magnetosphere.
The 'Deep Impact' collision released tens of thousands of tons of material, enough to bury a football field under 30 feet of comet dust. Scientists are analyzing X-ray data to better understand the evaporation process on comets and their interaction with solar wind.
Scientists confirm Voyager 1's crossing of the termination shock at 94 AU, marking a significant milestone on its journey to interstellar space. The spacecraft is expected to reach the heliopause in another 10 years or so, providing valuable insights into the solar system and beyond.
NASA's Voyager 1 spacecraft has entered the solar system's final frontier, encountering the heliosheath region. The spacecraft's observation of a sudden increase in magnetic field strength and plasma wave noise indicates it has crossed the termination shock, marking a significant milestone in its journey to interstellar space.
Scientists have identified solar wind flowing from funnel-shaped magnetic fields in the Sun's corona, originating in coronal funnels with a speed of about 10 km/s. This discovery improves our understanding of the solar wind's magnetic nature and source region.
A study by University of Warwick researchers has shown that the solar wind density behaves like a turbulent stream, not a passive scalar as previously thought. This discovery will impact our understanding of turbulence in complex systems such as climate change and weather patterns.
Scientists found that auroral ovals in the northern and southern hemispheres do not form mirror images, contrary to previous thought. The study suggests that the tilt of the Earth's magnetic field towards the Sun and conditions in the solar wind play a crucial role in shaping the auroras.
Physicist Gary Zank and his team at UCR will study the heliosphere and interstellar space with the $134-million IBEX mission. The team aims to confirm or refute predictions about the hydrogen wall, a boundary comprised of hydrogen atoms and protons.
The Cluster mission has found a new way for charged particles from the solar wind to enter Earth's magnetosphere, using giant vortices called non-linear Kelvin-Helmholtz waves. These vortices can carry particles inside the magnetosphere, potentially explaining the presence of hot plasma stored in the tail of Earth's magnetic field.
Research at the University of Minnesota suggests that magnetic field lines, similar to a slinky, can produce energy waves that accelerate electrons toward Earth. These waves are sufficient to power auroras, which occur in ring-shaped patterns around the poles.
A new study suggests that dust in the Kuiper Belt produces anomalous cosmic rays, which have been puzzling scientists. The research provides a possible explanation for the origin of these high-energy particles and offers insights into the composition and interactions of the solar system.
Researchers discovered that fluctuations in solar wind magnetic energy density are more likely to occur in extreme events, similar to stock market indices. The solar wind's self-similar pattern at various time scales allows for the application of knowledge from one field to understand the other.
Researchers found evidence that materials produced in the sun's atmosphere are ejected directly outward, forming the solar wind. This discovery contradicts a theory suggesting these materials circulate in the sun's interior before being ejected.
Astronomers using the Chandra X-ray Observatory discovered a complex shape of the Cat's Eye Nebula, which is driven by hot gas. The team also found an unexpected X-ray source at the central star, sparking questions about its formation.
A new map of Mars' ionosphere reveals strong localized magnetic fields as a significant barrier to atmospheric erosion by the solar wind. The findings suggest that these crustal fields played an important role in the past evolution of Mars' atmosphere and could have protected it from being stripped away.
Researchers have made the first direct observations of magnetic reconnection, a switch that allows energy to be transferred between solar wind and Earth. The phenomenon is responsible for aurora borealis, aurora australis, and occasional radio and satellite disruptions.
A new study found that a sharp decrease in solar wind density caused Earth's magnetosphere to balloon to more than 100 times its normal volume, reaching nearly to the moon. The event, dubbed "The Day the Solar Wind Ran Out of Gas," was rare and only seen a few times since satellites began measuring solar wind 35 years ago.
Winglee's design harnesses solar wind to accelerate spacecraft, potentially reaching speeds of over 100km/s. The sailcloth is a magnetic field that repels ions and charged particles, exerting a small but steady force on the spacecraft.
Scientists measure solar wind gusts that squeeze the Earth's magnetosphere, triggering brightening in the aurora borealis. This phenomenon can lead to global magnetic storms, potentially disrupting communications and power supplies.
A worldwide study of the Sun's quiet period reveals insights into solar activity and its effects on Earth. The research, published in the Journal of Geophysical Research, explores the Sun's large-scale, stable structures that dominate the solar corona at solar minimum.
The AGU Book 'New Perspectives on the Earth's Magnetotail' provides first-hand information on energetic particles and reveals basic properties of plasma in the universe. Edited by top experts, it offers a basis for understanding cosmic processes and auroral/geomagnetic phenomena.
An international team of scientists identified regions on the Sun where the high speed solar wind originates using the Solar Ultraviolet Measurements of Emitted Radiation spectrometer on SOHO. The research will lead to a better understanding of the solar wind's effect on Earth's space environment.
Polar spacecraft has taken the first measurements showing that solar events directly affect our outer atmosphere. The results correlate CMEs with enhanced ion outflows from the upper ionosphere, providing a new understanding of the complex interactions between the sun and Earth's magnetic field.
New research reveals the Van Allen radiation belts are powerful particle accelerators generating 'killer electrons' that can severely impair satellites. The accelerated electrons have a dramatic effect on human technological systems, including satellite failures and pager service disruptions.
Scientists Dr. Jeffrey R. Johnson and colleagues developed a helium-3 map of the Moon based on factors like exposure age, solar wind, and titanium content. The greatest amounts of helium-3 are expected to be found on the far side maria and in nearside areas with high concentrations of titanium dioxide.
A team of scientists discovered that the Pioneer 10 spacecraft detected a radio signal modulation mimicking a planet's orbit around PSR B1257+12. The analysis reveals that solar rotation causes similar variations in the pulsar's radio waves, effectively simulating the planet.
New data from the University of Delaware reveals that solar wind is not a simple, wave-like entity but rather a dynamic phenomenon with complex fluctuations. Understanding these fluctuations may enable prediction of cosmic disturbances and provide warnings for astronauts and utility companies.
Researchers discovered a cycle of strong and weak trade winds that triggered massive iceberg armadas across the North Atlantic during the last ice age. The study found a suborbital rhythm of 8,400 years in the strength of tropical winds, which governed the melting of massive ice sheets in the Northern Hemisphere.
Scientists found evidence of periodic changes in equatorial trade winds and warm tropical waters, which warmed the North Atlantic region and triggered melting along massive ice sheets. The research links climate phenomena at the top and middle of the globe, proposing a mechanism involving the release of warm water pools.