Phys.org January 23, 2019 Researchers in the UK have developed a system to improve the reliability of systems that predict space weather events by measuring the solar wind from distances further away from Earth than previously possible. In a project called HELCATS, they used a satellite set up to monitor the Sun and Earth from a side view, known as STEREO, to gather data on CMEs (coronal mass ejections) and how they vary in speed, density, and direction throughout a solar cycle. The idea was to exploit the STEREO Heliospheric Imaging data, with observations of over 1000 CMEs from 2007 […]
Tag Archives: Space weather
Earth’s magnetosphere
Phys.org March 26, 2018 The magnetosphere was key to helping Earth develop into a habitable planet. NASA’s Magnetospheric Multiscale Mission (MMS) was launched in March 2015 to observe the electron physics of magnetic reconnection for the first time. Bristling with energetic particle detectors and magnetic sensors, the four MMS spacecraft flew in close formation to areas on the front side of Earth’s magnetosphere where magnetic reconnection occurs. Data from investigations by NASA and partner agencies not only help unravel the fundamental physics of space, but also help improve space weather forecasting. Understanding our magnetosphere is a key element to helping […]
Space radiation more hazardous: Implications for astronauts and satellites
Science Daily March 15, 2018 According to a team of researchers in the US (University of New Hampshire, NASA Ames Research Center, The Aerospace Corporation, Harvard University, University of Tennessee, Goddard Space Flight Center, University of Michigan, industry), for most of the space age, the sun’s activity ebbed and flowed like clockwork in 11-year cycles. However, starting around 2006, scientists observed the longest solar minimum and weakest solar activity observed during the space age. Despite this overall reduction, the September 2017 solar eruptions produced episodes of significant Solar Particle Events and associated radiation caused by particle acceleration by successive, magnetically […]