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For the first time, astronomers have detected a powerful hurricane of plasma in Earththe upper atmosphere of – a phenomenon they call a “space hurricane.”
The space hurricane raged for nearly 8 hours on August 20, 2014, swirling hundreds of kilometers above Earth’s magnetic North Pole, according to a study published on February 22 in the journal. Nature communications.
Made from a tangled mess of magnetic field lines and the fast-flying solar wind, the hurricane was invisible to the naked eye – however, four weather satellites that passed over the North Pole detected a formation similar to a typical Earth hurricane, the authors wrote. ‘study. The space hurricane was shaped like a funnel with a silent “eye” in the center, surrounded by several counterclockwise spiral arms. plasma (ionized gas found throughout the solar system, including the Earth’s atmosphere).
Instead of raining water, the space hurricane rained electrons directly into Earth’s upper atmosphere.
“Until now, it was uncertain that plasma space hurricanes even exist, so proving it with such a vivid sighting is incredible,” said study co-author Mike Lockwood, a space scientist at the University of Reading in the UK, said in a press release. “Tropical storms are associated with enormous amounts of energy, and these space hurricanes must be created by an unusually large and rapid transfer of solar wind energy and charged particles into Earth’s upper atmosphere.”
Using a 3D model of the hurricane, the researchers hypothesized that the formation resulted from a complex interaction between the incoming solar wind (high-speed gusts of plasma periodically released by the sun) and the magnetic field above the North Pole.
Although this is the first space hurricane observed, the researchers hypothesize that these “weather” systems could be common events on any planet with a magnetic shield and plasma in its atmosphere.
“Plasma and magnetic fields in the atmosphere of planets exist throughout the universe, so the results suggest that space hurricanes are likely to be a widespread phenomenon,” Lockwood said.
Should you fear the space hurricane? Probably not. The upper atmosphere phenomenon poses little threat to our planet, the researchers noted, but it could impact existing space weather effects, for example by increasing drag on satellites or disrupting communication systems. GPS and radio.
Originally posted on Live Science.
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