Jump to content

Swarm reveals mysterious magnetic waves across Earth’s outer core


Recommended Posts

Using information from ESA’s Swarm satellite mission, scientists have discovered a completely new type of magnetic wave that sweeps across the outermost part of Earth’s outer core every seven years. 

earth%20magnetic%20waves.jpg

This fascinating finding opens a new window into a world we can never see. This mysterious wave oscillates every seven years and propagates westward at up to 1500 kilometers a year. 

Magnetic waves are likely to be triggered by disturbances deep within the Earth's fluid core, possibly related to buoyancy plumes. Each wave is specified by its period and typical length-scale, and the period depends on characteristics of the forces at play. For magneto-Coriolis waves, the period is indicative of the intensity of the magnetic field within the core. 

The research team suggests that other such waves are likely to exist, probably with longer periods – but their discovery relies on more research. 

Read full story at ESA.

 

View the full article

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

  • Similar Topics

    • By NASA
      NASA/Eric Bordelon & Michael DeMocker On July 16, 2024, the first core stage of NASA’s SLS (Space Launch System) rocket for the agency’s Artemis II mission began a journey from NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans. The core stage was moved onto the agency’s Pegasus barge, where it will be ferried 900 miles to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Once at Kennedy, engineers will prepare it in the Vehicle Assembly Building for attachment to other rocket and Orion spacecraft elements.
      The SLS rocket’s core stage is the largest NASA has ever produced. At 212 feet tall, it consists of five major elements, including two huge propellant tanks that collectively hold more than 733,000 gallons of super-chilled liquid propellant to feed four RS-25 engines. During launch and flight, the stage will operate for just over eight minutes, producing more than 2 million pounds of thrust to propel four astronauts inside NASA’s Orion spacecraft toward the Moon.
      Watch a timelapse video of the SLS core stage rollout.
      Image credit: NASA/Eric Bordelon & Michael DeMocker
      View the full article
    • By NASA
      3 min read
      NASA Mission to Study Mysteries in the Origin of Solar Radio Waves
      NASA’s CubeSat Radio Interferometry Experiment, or CURIE, is scheduled to launch July 9, 2024, to investigate the unresolved origins of radio waves coming from the Sun.
      CURIE will investigate where solar radio waves originate in coronal mass ejections, like this one seen in 304- and 171-angstrom wavelengths by NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory. NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center Scientists first noticed these radio waves decades ago, and over the years they’ve determined the radio waves come from solar flares and giant eruptions on the Sun called coronal mass ejections, or CMEs, which are a key driver of space weather that can impact satellite communications and technology at Earth. But no one knows where the radio waves originate within a CME.
      The CURIE mission aims to advance our understanding using a technique called low frequency radio interferometry, which has never been used in space before. This technique relies on CURIE’s two independent spacecraft — together no bigger than a shoebox — that will orbit Earth about two miles apart. This separation allows CURIE’s instruments to measure tiny differences in the arrival time of radio waves, which enables them to determine exactly where the radio waves came from.
      “This is a very ambitious and very exciting mission,” said Principal Investigator David Sundkvist, a researcher at the University of California, Berkeley. “This is the first time that someone is ever flying a radio interferometer in space in a controlled way, and so it’s a pathfinder for radio astronomy in general.”
      CURIE team members work on integrating the satellites into the CubeSat deployer. ExoLaunch The spacecraft, designed by a team from UC Berkeley, will measure radio waves ranging 0.1 to 19 megahertz to pinpoint the radio waves’ solar origin. These wavelengths are blocked by Earth’s upper atmosphere, so this research can only be done from space.
      CURIE will launch aboard an ESA (European Space Agency) Ariane 6 rocket in early July from the Guiana Space Center in Kourou, French Guiana. The rocket will take CURIE to 360 miles above Earth’s surface, where it can get a clear view of the Sun’s radio waves.
      Once in its circular orbit, the two adjoined CURIE spacecraft will establish communication with ground stations before orienting and separating. When the separated satellites are in formation, their dual eight-foot antennas will deploy and start collecting data.
      CURIE is sponsored by NASA’s Heliophysics Flight Opportunities for Research and Technology (H-FORT) Program and is the sole mission manifested on the NASA CubeSat Launch Initiative’s ELaNa (Educational Launch of Nanosatellites) 43 mission. As a pathfinder, CURIE will demonstrate a proof-of-concept for space-based radio interferometry in the CubeSat form factor. CURIE will also pave the way for the upcoming Sun Radio Interferometer Space Experiment, or SunRISE, mission. SunRISE will employ six CubeSats to map the region where the solar radio waves originate in 2-D.
      By Mara Johnson-Groh
      NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.
      Share








      Details
      Last Updated Jul 08, 2024 Editor Abbey Interrante Related Terms
      CubeSat Launch Initiative CubeSats ELaNa (Educational Launch of Nanosatellites) Goddard Space Flight Center Heliophysics Heliophysics Division Heliophysics Research Program Science Mission Directorate Small Satellite Missions SunRISE (Sun Radio Interferometer Space Experiment) The Sun The Sun & Solar Physics Explore More
      5 min read First of NASA’s SunRISE SmallSats Rolls Off Production Line
      Six of these small satellites will work together, creating the largest radio telescope ever launched…


      Article


      2 years ago
      Keep Exploring Discover More Topics From NASA
      Missions



      Humans in Space



      Climate Change



      Solar System


      View the full article
    • By USH
      Years ago, physicist Dr. John Brandenburg stated that there is evidence of two nuclear explosions on Mars. These explosions could have been caused by thermonuclear bombs. 
      Remnants of an ancient city on Mars destroyed by thermonuclear attack.
      Evidence supporting this theory includes the presence of nuclear isotopes in the Martian atmosphere and the detection of a thin layer of substances such as uranium, thorium, and radioactive potassium on the surface of Mars. 
      The absence of craters at the sites indicates that the bombs were likely detonated above ground in an air blast, which worsens the global fallout but dampens the immediate ground impact. Conversely, if detonated on the ground, the local devastation is immense but the global impact is minimized. Regardless, these explosions were powerful enough to cause a global catastrophe and significantly alter Mars' climate. According to Brandenburg, the nuclear attack apparently wiped out two races: the Cydonians and Utopians. 

      The MRO HiRISE image ESP_019103_1460 shows the "Atlantic Chaos," and a closer examination reveals a city that was almost destroyed by the thermonuclear explosions. Amid the ruins of destroyed buildings and towering structures, a largely intact dome-shaped structure is visible (See image below.) 

      The remnants of this city suggest that Mars was once inhabited by intelligent species like the Cydonians and Utopians, who lived there under conditions similar to those on Earth. This also serves as evidence that far more advanced civilizations may have existed for millions of years and possessed the capability to annihilate all life on a planet using thermonuclear bombs, among other means. 
      See also:
      J.E. Brandenburg:Evidence for a Large Anomalous Nuclear Explosions in Mars Past 
      Gigapan images (zoom) of the destroyed city on Mars: Javed Raza's-Atlantis Chassis-ESP 019103 1460 by Neville Thompson

      View the full article
    • By NASA
      3 min read
      Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)
      NASA’s ECOSTRESS instrument on June 19 recorded scorching roads and sidewalks across Phoenix where contact with skin could cause serious burns in minutes to seconds, as indicated in the legend above. NASA/JPL-Caltech Roads and sidewalks in some areas get so hot that skin contact could result in second-degree burns.
      Researchers at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California have mapped scorching pavement in Phoenix where contact with skin — from a fall, for example — can cause serious burns. The image shows land surface temperatures across a grid of roads and adjacent sidewalks, revealing how urban spaces can turn hazardous during hot weather.
      Data for this visualization of the Phoenix area — the fifth most populous city in the United States — was collected at 1:02 p.m. local time on June 19, 2024, by a NASA instrument aboard the International Space Station. Called ECOSTRESS (short for the Ecosystem Spaceborne Thermal Radiometer Experiment on Space Station), the instrument measures thermal infrared emissions from Earth’s surface.
      The Image shows how miles of asphalt and concrete surfaces (colored here in yellow, red, and purple, based on temperature) trap heat. The surfaces registered at least 120 degrees Fahrenheit (49 degrees Celsius) to the touch — hot enough to cause contact burns in minutes to seconds.
      The image also shows cooling effects of green spaces in communities like Encanto and Camelback East, in contrast to the hotter surface temperatures seen in Maryvale and Central City, where there are fewer parks and trees.
      “We create these maps to be intuitive to users and help make data more accessible to the public and citizens scientists,” said Glynn Hulley, a JPL climate researcher. “We see them as a vital tool for planning effective heat interventions, such as tree planting, that can cool down the hottest roads and sidewalks.”
      Homing in on Heat
      At the lower right of the image is Phoenix’s Sky Harbor International Airport, where ECOSTRESS recorded some of the hottest land surface temperatures within the city —around 140 F (60 C). The air temperature on June 19 at the airport reached 106 F (43 C).
      Air temperature, which is measured out of direct sunlight, can differ significantly from the temperature at the land surface. Streets are often the hottest surfaces of the built environment due to dark asphalt paving that absorbs more sunlight than lighter-colored surfaces; asphalt absorbs up to 95% of solar radiation. These types of surfaces can easily be 40 to 60 degrees F (22 to 33 degrees C) hotter than the air temperature on a very hot day.
      Launched to the International Space Station in 2018, ECOSTRESS has as its primary mission the identification of plants’ thresholds for water use and water stress, giving insight into their ability to adapt to a warming climate. But the instrument is also useful for documenting other heat-related phenomena, like patterns of heat absorption and retention.
      To produce the image of Phoenix, scientists used a machine learning algorithm that incorporates data from additional satellites: NASA/USGS Landsat and Sentinel-2. The combined measurements were used to “sharpen” the surface temperatures to a resolution of 100 feet (30 meters) by 100 feet (30 meters).
      More About the Mission
      JPL built and manages the ECOSTRESS mission for the Earth Science Division in the Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington. ECOSTRESS is an Earth Venture Instrument mission; the program is managed by NASA’s Earth System Science Pathfinder program at NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia.
      More information about ECOSTRESS is available here: https://ecostress.jpl.nasa.gov/.
      News Media Contacts
      Jane J. Lee / Andrew Wang
      Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
      818-354-0307 / 626-379-6874
      jane.j.lee@jpl.nasa.gov / andrew.wang@jpl.nasa.gov
      Written by Sally Younger
      2024-096
      Share
      Details
      Last Updated Jul 02, 2024 Related Terms
      Ecostress (ECOsystem Spaceborne Thermal Radiometer Experiment on Space Station) Earth Science Extreme Weather Events Jet Propulsion Laboratory Weather and Atmospheric Dynamics Explore More
      5 min read NASA’s NEOWISE Infrared Heritage Will Live On
      Article 22 hours ago 2 min read NASA@ My Library and Partners Engage Millions in Eclipse Training and Preparation
      The Space Science Institute, with funding from the NASA Science Mission Directorate and Gordon and…
      Article 4 days ago 4 min read NASA Parachute Sensor Testing Could Make EPIC Mars Landings
      Article 5 days ago Keep Exploring Discover Related Topics
      Missions
      Humans in Space
      Climate Change
      Solar System
      View the full article
    • By European Space Agency
      Less than a month after it was launched, ESA’s EarthCARE satellite has returned the first image from one of its instruments – an image that, for the first time from space, unveils the internal structure and dynamics of clouds.
      This remarkable first image, captured by the satellite’s cloud profiling radar, offers a mere glimpse of the instrument's full potential once it is fully calibrated.
      View the full article
  • Check out these Videos

×
×
  • Create New...