Latest Aurora Stories
Researchers using NASA's fleet of five THEMIS spacecraft have discovered a form of space weather that packs the punch of an earthquake and plays a key role in sparking bright Northern Lights. They call it "the spacequake."A spacequake is a temblor in Earth's magnetic field. It is felt most strongly in Earth orbit, but is not exclusive to space. The effects can reach all the way down to the surface of Earth itself."Magnetic reverberations have been detected at ground stations...
WASHINGTON, July 20 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- A major discovery, led by researchers from The George Washington University Medical Center, promises to revolutionize the way scientists think about key aspects of cellular lifecycle and offers a new avenue for cancer researchers to explore in their quest to one day slow down the progression of cancer. The discovery, reported in the article "Arpc 1b, a centrosomal protein, is both an activator and substrate of Aurora A," furthers the science...
ESA's pioneering Cluster mission is celebrating its 10th anniversary. During the past decade, Cluster's four satellites have provided extraordinary insights into the largely invisible interaction between the Sun and Earth.Cluster's four satellites, Rumba, Samba, Salsa, and Tango, fly in formation around Earth to provide a 3D picture of how the continuous "˜solar wind' of charged particles or plasma from the Sun affects our near-Earth space environment and its protective "˜magnetic bubble,...
Prize For Excellence In Public Engagement With Planetary Science The first Europlanet prize for excellence in public engagement with planetary science has been awarded to Dr Jean Lilensten of the Laboratoire de Planétologie de Grenoble. For more than 10 years, Dr Lilensten has worked to share the magic of planetary aurorae with school children and members of the public across Europe, using his "˜planeterrella' experiment.Dr Thierry Fouchet, Outreach Coordinator for Europlanet, said, "Dr...
AURORA, Neb., June 16 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Hamilton CapTel announced the immediate availability of the Hamilton Mobile CapTel application for the iPhone. The application provides captions of telephone calls for individuals with hearing loss while they are on the go. Available nationwide, Hamilton Mobile CapTel allows users to listen while reading captions of everything that is said during phone calls - all from the convenience of their iPhone. (Photo:...
For more than 25 years, our understanding of terrestrial space weather has been partly based on incorrect assumptions about how nitrogen, the most abundant gas in our atmosphere, reacts when it collides with electrons produced by energetic ultraviolet sunlight and "solar wind."New research published today, Tuesday 8 June, in IOP Publishing's Journal of Physics B: Atomic, Molecular and Optical Physics describes how scientists from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) at the...
AURORA, Colo., June 4 /PRNewswire/ -- 'HRO Today' distinguished Graebel Relocation Services Worldwide, Inc. with first-place in its annual full-service relocation Baker's Dozen survey. The confidential 'HRO Today' full-service relocation survey is conducted with key decision-makers responsible for outsourced global mobility relocation services in the Fortune 250. Over one hundred eighty respondents were queried on relocation services provided, scope and scale of services and the quality...
Development model of Mars rover at University of Leicester on Friday June 4A development model of the Mars Rover, called Bridget, is on display at the University Friday, June 4, providing invited schoolchildren as well as staff and students with an exciting glimpse into the shape of things to come.The event coincides with celebrations marking the 50th anniversary of space research at the University of Leicester.Scientists from the University of Leicester are involved in five instruments on...
SAN JOSE, Calif., June 1 /PRNewswire/ -- Xilinx, Inc. (Nasdaq: XLNX) today announced its participation at the Military & Aerospace Electronics Forum (MAEF) at the San Diego Convention Center, June 3-4, 2010. The company will show how its industry-leading Virtex® and Spartan® series FPGAs, IP and development tools can be used by system architects to drive beamforming, DO-254 design assurance, missiles defense, UAV reconnaissance and surveillance applications. (Logo:...
The Electric Power Research Institute members represent more than 90 percent of US electricity AURORA, Colo., May 26 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Solar Technology Acceleration Center (SolarTAC) announces the addition of the Electric Power Research Institute, Inc. (EPRI) as a sponsoring member. EPRI conducts research and development for the electric power industry and its membership represents more than 90 percent of the electricity generated and delivered in the United States, along...
Latest Aurora Reference Libraries
Hannes Olof Gösta Alfvén (May 30, 1908 - April 2, 1995) was a Swedish plasma physicist born in Norrköping, Sweden. Alfvén received his PhD from the University of Uppsala in 1934. His thesis was titled "Investigations of the Ultra-short Electromagnetic Waves." He was originally trained as an electrical power engineer and later moved on to research and teaching in the fields of plasma physics. Alfvén made many contributions to plasma physics, including theories describing the...
Aurora -- The Polar Aurora are natural displays of light in the sky that can be seen with the unaided eye only at night. An auroral display in the Northern Hemisphere is called the aurora borealis, or the northern lights; in the Southern Hemisphere it is called the aurora australis. Auroras are the most visible effect of the sun's activity on the earth's atmosphere. The beautiful and often eerie curtains of light in the night time sky have been observed by people for millennia. An aurora...
Van Allen Radiation Belt -- The Van Allen radiation belt is a torus of energetic charged particles around Earth, trapped by Earth's magnetic field. The presence of a radiation belt had been theorized prior to the Space Age and the belt's presence was confirmed by the Explorer I on January 31, 1958 and Explorer III missions, under Doctor James Van Allen. The trapped radiation was first mapped out by Explorer IV and Pioneer III. Qualitatively, it is useful to view this belt as...
Solar Wind -- Solar wind, a stream of particles (mostly high-energy protons ~ 500 Kev) that is continually ejected from the surface of the Sun. The composition of this plasma is identical to the Sun's corona, 73% hydrogen and 25% helium with the remainder as trace impurities, and is ionized. Near Earth, the velocity of the solar wind varies from 200km/s-889km/s. The average is 450 km/s. Approximately 3000 tons of material is lost from the Sun every hour as solar wind. Since solar...
Solar Flare -- A solar flare is a violent eruption that explodes from a star's photosphere with energies equivalent to tens of millions of hydrogen bombs. Solar flares from the Sun send out a streams of highly energetic solar wind that can present a radiation hazard to spacecraft outside of planetary magnetospheres and can disrupt radio signals on Earth. Solar flares were first observed on the Sun in 1859 by English astronomer Richard Carrington. They have also been observed to...
