Geoscience: Geomagnetic Storms Space: The Solar System
Published

Solving solar puzzle could help save Earth from planet-wide blackouts      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Understanding the Sun's magnetic dynamo could help predict solar weather, such as potentially dangerous geothermal storms, solar flares and sunspots. Mathematicians have proposed a new model of the Sun that matches observed data.

Geoscience: Geomagnetic Storms Space: The Solar System
Published

Unravelling the knotty problem of the Sun's activity      (via sciencedaily.com) 

A new approach to analysing the development of magnetic tangles on the Sun has led to a breakthrough in a longstanding debate about how solar energy is injected into the solar atmosphere before being released into space, causing space weather events. The first direct evidence that field lines become knotted before they emerge at the visible surface of the Sun has implications for our ability to predict the behavior of active regions and the nature of the solar interior.

Geoscience: Geomagnetic Storms Space: The Solar System
Published

Lightning impacts edge of space in ways not previously observed      (via sciencedaily.com) 

A team of researchers working with data collected by an Incoherent Scatter Radar (ISR) have examined the simultaneous impacts of thunderstorms and solar flares on the ionospheric D-region (often referred to as the edge of space).

Geoscience: Geomagnetic Storms Space: The Solar System
Published

Boundary of heliosphere mapped      (via sciencedaily.com) 

For the first time, the boundary of the heliosphere has been mapped, giving scientists a better understanding of how solar and interstellar winds interact.

Geoscience: Geomagnetic Storms Space: The Solar System
Published

'Surfing' particles: Physicists solve a mystery surrounding aurora borealis      (via sciencedaily.com) 

The spectacularly colorful aurora borealis -- or northern lights -- that fills the sky in high-latitude regions has fascinated people for thousands of years. Now, a team of scientists has resolved one of the final mysteries surrounding its origin.

Geoscience: Geomagnetic Storms Space: The Solar System
Published

Which way does the solar wind blow?      (via sciencedaily.com) 

High performance computers are central to the quest to understand the sun's behavior and its role in space weather events. Scientists are using the Frontera supercomputer to improve the state-of-the-art in space weather forecasting. Researchers described the role of backstreaming pickup ions in the acceleration of charged particles in the universe, which play an important role in space weather.

Geoscience: Environmental Issues Geoscience: Geomagnetic Storms
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Understanding of invisible but mighty particles in Earth's radiation belts      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Tiny charged electrons and protons which can damage satellites and alter the ozone have revealed some of their mysteries to scientists.

Geoscience: Geomagnetic Storms
Published

Airports could generate enough solar energy to power a city      (via sciencedaily.com) 

New research shows placing solar panels on the roofs of Australian airport buildings could be an efficient step towards net zero emissions.

Geoscience: Geomagnetic Storms Geoscience: Severe Weather Space: The Solar System
Published

New study ties solar variability to the onset of decadal La Nina events      (via sciencedaily.com) 

A new study shows a correlation between the end of solar cycles and a switch from El Nino to La Nina conditions in the Pacific Ocean, suggesting that solar variability can drive seasonal weather variability on Earth.

Geoscience: Geomagnetic Storms Space: The Solar System
Published

The case of the cloudy filters: Solving the mystery of the degrading sunlight detectors      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Sun-facing satellites monitor the Sun's ultraviolet (UV) light to give us advance warning of solar storms. But over the course of just a year or two, the metal filters in the detectors mysteriously lose their ability to transmit UV light. Now, scientists have found the first evidence indicating that carbonization is not the problem.

Geoscience: Geomagnetic Storms Space: The Solar System
Published

The aurora's very high altitude booster      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Electrons arriving from the Sun are propelled by electrical energy generated as high as 30,000 kilometers above Earth, ultimately creating the dazzling displays of the northern and southern lights.

Geoscience: Geomagnetic Storms Space: Exploration
Published

'Space hurricane' in Earth's upper atmosphere discovered      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Analysis of observations made by satellites in 2014 has revealed a long-lasting 'space hurricane' -- a swirling mass of plasma several hundred kilometers above the North Pole, raining electrons instead of water.

Geoscience: Geomagnetic Storms
Published

Ancient relic points to a turning point in Earth's history 42,000 years ago      (via sciencedaily.com) 

The temporary breakdown of Earth's magnetic field 42,000 years ago sparked major climate shifts that led to global environmental change and mass extinctions, a new international study shows.

Geoscience: Geomagnetic Storms
Published

How do electrons close to Earth reach almost the speed of light?      (via sciencedaily.com) 

In the Van Allen radiation belts, electrons can reach almost the speed of light. Researchers have revealed conditions for such strong accelerations. They had demonstrated in 2020: during solar storm plasma waves play a crucial role. However, it remained unclear why ultra-relativistic electron energies are not achieved in all solar storms. They now show: extreme depletions of the background plasma density are crucial.

Geoscience: Geomagnetic Storms
Published

The upside of volatile space weather      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Although stellar flares are typically viewed as a detriment to habitability, study shows 'life might still have a fighting chance.' Researchers find that flares drive a planets atmospheric composition to a new chemical equilibrium.

Geoscience: Geomagnetic Storms
Published

Can ripples on the sun help predict solar flares?      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Scientists discovered in 1996 that sunquakes are linked to solar flares. Now, using helioseismic holography, scientists have analyzed a 2011 flare and shown that the impulsive source that generated the sunquake, and the refracted acoustic waves that later rippled the solar surface, was submerged 1,000 kilometers below the photosphere and flare. Further sunquake study could reveal if submerged sources are common and whether they can predict the appearance of flares and potential impact on Earth.

Geoscience: Geomagnetic Storms
Published

NASA's IRIS spots nanojets: Shining light on heating the solar corona      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Researchers report the first ever clear images of nanojets -- bright thin lights that travel perpendicular to the magnetic structures in the solar atmosphere, called the corona -- in a process that reveals the existence of one of the potential coronal heating candidates: nanoflares.

Geoscience: Geomagnetic Storms
Published

Solar storm forecasts for Earth improved with help from the public      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Scientists used observations recorded by members of the public to increase accuracy of computer model predictions of when harmful CMEs will hit Earth.

Geoscience: Geomagnetic Storms
Published

First physics-based method for predicting large solar flares      (via sciencedaily.com) 

A research team recently succeeded in developing the first physics-based model that can accurately predict imminent large solar flares, which can cause severe space weather disturbances affecting Earth.

Geoscience: Geomagnetic Storms
Published

Researchers track slowly splitting 'dent' in Earth's magnetic field      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Earth's magnetic field acts like a protective shield around the planet, repelling and trapping charged particles from the Sun. But over South America and the southern Atlantic Ocean, an unusually weak spot in the field -- called the South Atlantic Anomaly, or SAA -- allows these particles to dip closer to the surface than normal.