Latest Magnetosphere Stories

Magnetic reconnection could be the Universe's favorite way to make things explode. It operates anywhere magnetic fields pervade space--which is to say almost everywhere. On the sun magnetic reconnection causes solar flares as powerful as a billion atomic bombs. In Earth's atmosphere, it fuels magnetic storms and auroras. In laboratories, it can cause big problems in fusion reactors. It's ubiquitous.The problem is, researchers can't explain it.The basics are clear enough. Magnetic lines of...

On September 29, the MESSENGER spacecraft will pass by Mercury for the third time, flying 141.7 miles above the planet's rocky surface for a final gravity assist that will enable it to enter orbit about Mercury in 2011. This encounter will also provide new observational opportunities for MESSENGER's Magnetometer, designed to determine the structure and origin of Mercury's intrinsic magnetic field.The comparison of magnetosphere observations from MESSENGER's first flyby in January 2008 with...

Over almost nine years in space, the four Cluster satellites have returned a wealth of science data including insights into improving radio searches for exoplanets, energetic vortices tunneling into Earth's protective magnetic bubble, and 3D magnetic dances in near-Earth space.The satellites are in good health as they continue exploring new regions of space.Launched in 2000, Cluster, the first multi-satellite mission studying near-earth space, is composed of four identical satellites orbiting...

400 years of discussion and we're still not sure what creates the Earth's magnetic field, and thus the magnetosphere, despite the importance of the latter as the only buffer between us and deadly solar wind of charged particles (made up of electrons and protons). New research raises question marks about the forces behind the magnetic field and the structure of Earth itself.The controversial new paper published in New Journal of Physics (co-owned by the Institute of Physics and the German...

SRI International, an independent nonprofit research institute, announced today that early scientific results are now available from the Advanced Modular Incoherent Scatter Radar (AMISR), a modular, transportable radar system funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) that has recently completed the first two years of operation.Scientists are using the novel system to investigate the interaction of upper atmospheric phenomena, which are driven by energetic particles and the solar wind...

GREENBELT, Md., May 28 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Using data from NASA's THEMIS mission, a team of University of Alberta researchers has pinpointed the impact epicenter of an earthbound space storm as it crashes into the atmosphere, and given an advance warning of its arrival. (Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20081007/38461LOGO) The team's study reveals that magnetic blast waves can be used to pinpoint and predict the location where space storms dissipate their massive amounts...

Using data from NASA's THEMIS mission, a team of University of Alberta researchers has pinpointed the impact epicenter of an earthbound space storm as it crashes into the atmosphere, and given an advance warning of its arrival.The team's study reveals that magnetic blast waves can be used to pinpoint and predict the location where space storms dissipate their massive amounts of energy. These storms can dump the equivalent of 50 gigawatts of power, or the output of 10 of the world's largest...

Scientists have found that extreme solar activity drastically compresses the magnetosphere and modifies the composition of ions in near-Earth space. They are now looking to model how these changes affect orbiting satellites, including the GPS system.The results were obtained from coordinated in-situ measurements performed by ESA's four Cluster satellites along with the two Chinese/ESA Double Star satellites.Under normal solar conditions, GPS satellites orbit within the magnetosphere"”the...

Keeping an unsleeping eye on the phenomena that cause the auroraAn international scientific consortium has successfully developed a series of autonomous observatories in Antarctica that for the first time provide critical year-round "space weather" data from the Earth's harshest environment.Recently, data from these observatories were used in conjunction with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's array of THEMIS satellites to reveal new information about magnetospheric...

The European Space Agency says it is extending the operations of its Mars Express, Venus Express and Cluster missions until at least Dec. 31. The ESA said the Mars Express spacecraft, launched in 2003, has produced breathtaking, high-resolution images of the planet's surface in 3-D and in color. The spacecraft, carrying the first radar instrument flown to Mars, was also the first spacecraft to detect methane in the planet's atmosphere from orbit. The Mars Express mission has been extended...