Atmosphere acts as heat shield for solar storms
Posted: Fri, May 10, 2002, 8:58 AM ET (1258 GMT)
New data from a NASA spacecraft confirm that a region of the Earth's upper atmosphere acts as a heat shield, absorbing energy from solar storms, but in the process generating a cloud of plasma that surrounds the planet. Observations by the Imager for Magnetopause to Aurora Global Exploration (IMAGE) spacecraft show that the upper ionosphere, a region of the atmosphere 300 to 1,000 km above the Earth's surface, absorbs energy from a multimillion-amp electric current generated when energetic particles from solar storms interact with the Earth's magnetosphere. This turns a portion of the gas — a few hundred tons for a typical storm — into a plasma that is distributed around the planet by the magnetosphere. This plasma can disrupt satellites and interfere with GPS signals.
New data from a NASA spacecraft confirm that a region of the Earth's upper atmosphere acts as a heat shield, absorbing energy from solar storms, but in the process generating a cloud of plasma that surrounds the planet. Observations by the Imager for Magnetopause to Aurora Global Exploration (IMAGE) spacecraft show that the upper ionosphere, a region of the atmosphere 300 to 1,000 km above the Earth's surface, absorbs energy from a multimillion-amp electric current generated when energetic particles from solar storms interact with the Earth's magnetosphere. This turns a portion of the gas — a few hundred tons for a typical storm — into a plasma that is distributed around the planet by the magnetosphere. This plasma can disrupt satellites and interfere with GPS signals.
Related Links:
| <<previous article | next article>> |
|
news in brief
|
|
Roscosmos replaces cosmonaut on next Crew Dragon mission to ISS
Posted: Sat, Dec 6 9:45 AM ET (1445 GMT) |
|
news links
|
|
Wednesday, December 10
Musk’s Starlink Rallies Support as Namibia Weighs Licensing Bid
Bloomberg News — 5:29 am ET (1029 GMT) The Free Market Can Connect Rural America Faster Than the Government
Reason — 5:28 am ET (1028 GMT) How Starlink became the world’s internet alternative
Rest of World — 5:28 am ET (1028 GMT) Muon Space Secures Direct to Phase II Award Supporting Space Development Agency's Missile Warning and Tracking Mission
PR Newswire — 5:23 am ET (1023 GMT) Cadets use new technology to monitor the geospace environment
US Air Force — 5:22 am ET (1022 GMT) |
