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located above the South American continent, has effects that can be felt at a hundred kilometers altitude
When the Hubble Space Telescope crosses, its instruments are extinguished.
Ignoring it can be fatal. In 2016, a new expensive Japanese satellite – the powerful Hitomi, designed to study black holes and clusters of galaxies – went unconscious and paid for it: it suffered a crash and crashed, to the desperation of Japanese astronomers
. (ISS), in orbit around the Earth, crosses its territory, the astronauts on mission at the station report strange visions: explosions of light, like fireworks.
We are talking about the Magnetic Anomaly of South America (AMAS), the region of least intensity of the Earth's magnetic field, located above South American territory, the most obvious effects of which can be felt in a hundred kilometers altitude
. a century and, although it affects the functioning of artificial satellites – with economic and human impact -, the anomaly is little known and does not receive the attention deserved by the
In a Interview with BBC News Brasil, three researchers from the National Institute of Space Research (INPE), in São José dos Campos (SP), explain in turn the phenomenon – and why it interests us.
"The Earth is enveloped in a magnetic field generated internally on the planet and protects us from all that comes from space" says the physicist Antônio Lopes Padilha
This magnetic field, explains Padilha, is generated in the liquid core of the Earth, thousands of miles deep. The core is formed mainly of iron and nickel.
"The movement of these electrons generates an electric current and this current generates the magnetic field of the Earth." [19659105] "The movement of these electrons generates an electric current and this current generates the magnetic field of the Earth." ] See also:
The magnetic field, however, is not the same across the surface of the planet. In some areas, it is stronger than in others.
"The region of the South American Anomaly, historically called the South-Atlantic Anomaly, is the region of least intensity of the magnetic field on the surface of the Earth," says Padilha.
The dimensions of this "hole" vary according to the altitude, it explains […]
"It covers a large part of the South American continent, its presence causes certain phenomena, mainly in the so-called ionosphere region , above 100 km Inpe team
At 500 km height (the approximate orbit of the International Space Station), the AMAS area extends between -50 ° and 0 ° ° of geographic latitude and -90 ° and + 40 ° of longitude, that is, in a rough calculation, the anomaly would have been about 90 million square kilometers. [19659018] Getty Images
Satellite transmissions can be affected by the anomaly
How are we affected?
Periodically, sudden changes in the magnetic field of the sun cause the sudden release of large amounts of light. These phenomena, known as solar explosions, release electromagnetic radiation that propagates at the speed of light, reaching the Earth in 8 minutes. They also accelerate particles out of the Sun, which can generate so-called magnetic clouds, or coronal mbad ejections (CMEs). The cloud moves in space and sometimes reaches the Earth.
There are particles in there – protons and electrons. It is a mbad of plasma that takes between one and three days to reach the Earth and, when it does, it causes magnetic storms, leading to the precipitation of these highly energetic particles on the planet.
"The most beautiful effect of storms When there is a dawn, we can do a search, a few days before the solar explosion," says Brazilian engineer and doctor of space science Clézio Marcos De Nardin , Director General of the Brazilian Space Weather Program., Embrace / INPE
As the magnetic field that protects the Earth from these particles is weaker in the AMAS region, when there are solar explosions, the risks that the energetic particles released by the Sun cross the magnetic field are much larger
Result: anomalous satellites are much more affected by radioactive particles – and require additional protection.
satellite satellites that cross the planet. Anomaly are much greater here than anywhere else in the world, with the exception of the Northern Lights, "says De Nardin.
" We know, for example, that Austrian satellites are extinguished when they enter the magnetic anomaly and are reconnected when they exit at the other end. This is done to avoid problems in the computer devices because such a particle can damage the computer or change the attitude of the satellite, leading to its loss. "
Here is what happened to the Japanese Hitomi satellite, explain the researchers." 19659005] "It was an X-ray satellite, an astrophysical satellite. He went into the anomaly and he suffered so much particle bombardment that he was lost. He began to turn around the tree himself and crashed. Then the Japanese Space Agency came to the public to explain why she had lost the satellite. They did not take into account the predictions of space weather, which predicted the arrival of magnetic clouds, which would increase the precipitation of particles in the anomaly, "says De Nardin.
To our knowledge, the man, the importance of abnormality Magnetic resonance imaging is badociated with the potential risks that it presents for the satellite network of the planet – explains the scientist
And as modern societies rely more and more on artificial satellites for multiple activities: communications, navigation, meteorology, defense. , Earth observation and exploration of the Universe – the search for strategies to overcome the anomaly is becoming more and more vital.
"Since about ten years, we have developed a lot of climate forecasts in the space," says De Nardin. The Embrace program, led by him, is one of the world's top five in terms of space weather forecast
Dribble Anomaly
Predicting space weather is important for all (1963). At AMAS, the issue is the large number of satellites circulating in the area "
" For example, it is around the geographical equator that reside most of the satellites communications and other geostationary meteorological satellites, "explains De Nardin. "
Thus, satellite experts use three main strategies to" dribble "the anomaly.
" First and foremost,, build more robust systems and resistant to particle precipitation secondly, designing on-board computers to allow the satellite to operate longer without control, with larger internal disks capable of storing more information. coinciding with magnetic storms (which is done on the prediction of space weather), "says De Nardin.
Aircraft are the most affected in the anomaly?
" Plane flies much lower, never reach such an altitude. They reach a maximum of 10 or 12 km altitude – I am talking about commercial flights. "
Still, there are ongoing studies on the subject, adds physicist and PhD in Geophysics
" Research is underway to try to measure the effects (of AMAS) on the subject. ; avionics. But we do not expect to find relevant variations. It is normal to have a higher dose in flight because you are taller and have less atmosphere to protect yourself. It is also expected that the doses are a little higher in our region (under the anomaly), nothing very impressive, but it is what we want to measure. "
Space Station
It is known that the effect is
When the ISS crosses the area of the anomaly, it is common for astronauts to see bursts of light, like shooting stars – even when they have their eyes closed. "
A possible explanation for this phenomenon is that the optic nerve, deep in the eye of the astronaut, would be affected by the particles that they rush into it.
When the ISS pbades through the AMAS region, the risks badociated with solar explosions also increase.
A solar explosion occurs, if the arrival time of the cloud of particles coincides with the pbadage of the ISS in the anomaly, the chances of what the rain particles on the station increase considerably.
"There is an ISS shielded room for astronauts to stay in CME arrivals – hence the importance of space weather prediction centers, such as that "
" if there is extravehicular activity at the space station, that is, if the astronaut leaves the ship for repairs or experiments – and to coincide with a magnetic storm at that time, the astronaut will be much more vulnerable. "
De Nardin points out that solar explosions – and therefore magnetic storms – are still a risk for the ISS and its team .
"Shortly after a solar explosion, the first particles to arrive are those that were accelerated out of the sun immediately after radiation, they are so violent that they were baptized"
"They can cross the armor of the ISS as a knife cuts the butter, they can cross the electronic circuits, burn their memory, hit the embedded instruments, destroy the processors De Nardin says that in his lectures, a common question is : what effect will the anomaly have on humans – especially, in Brazil "
" In principle, the precipitation of particles would not directly affect people here. "There has no connection with skin cancer, nothing like it, we are talking about things that are important over a hundred kilometers.
But there is at least one type of possible impact. "Because the average citizen is increasingly connected to the world in real time, let's take the example of the Russian World Cup and imagine that the Brazilian national team is shooting at the goal of the last game." Do you want the communications satellite to stop transmitting right now? "
" Yes, if you have a magnetic storm and it's not prepared for it, and s & # 39, there is no other backup satellite, this can be a reality, "concludes the researcher
