Science Fiction
Dictionary
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
 |
Space 'Hurricane' Has Been Seen
It seems natural to extend to outer space the same kind of terminology and concerns that come into play in studying the atmosphere - space weather.
1/
— Mark A. Garlick 🌖 (@SpaceBoffin) March 24, 2021
PLEASE RETWEET!
What's a space hurricane? A new phenomenon discovered high above the Earth that causes electrons to 'precipitate' along magnetic field lines and generate spiral-shaped aurorae. Here's my #3Danimation, commissioned by @jasontreat of @NatGeoMag pic.twitter.com/afaruIc3Ko
A wide auroral oval happens when the sun’s magnetic field points south while it interacts with the dayside section of Earth’s magnetic field, which points north as it flows around the planet. During a solar storm, in which electrons and parts of the sun’s magnetic field fly toward Earth, the sun and Earth’s magnetic fields can couple together, a bit like two opposing ends of a bar magnet. This coupling sets up a strong magnetic pathway between the sun and Earth, allowing electrons and positive ions from the solar wind to rush down into the Earth’s atmosphere at the poles.To explain the weird hurricane-like 2014 auroral vortex—a spinning lightshow tightly packed around the magnetic north—the team attempted to replicate what the satellites saw in a 3D model that can simulate the movements of magnetic fluids.
At that time, the sun’s magnetic compass was pointing very strongly north, so the coupling with Earth’s magnetic field was extremely weak. That caused the auroral oval to contract into a small spot atop the magnetic north pole.
Even during the mild solar wind conditions present that day, electrons still rained down into Earth’s upper atmosphere. Over a wide auroral oval they would normally produce dim auroras. But as they were falling into such a tight oval that day, more gas atoms and molecules were being pinged in that specific spot than usual, creating a brighter auroral glow than one would expect.
Finally, the solar wind also had an east-west magnetic component. This isn’t especially unusual, but when applied to such a highly constricted auroral oval, it effectively pushed it, causing the aurora to spin. And voilà, a space hurricane.
(Via National Geographic.)
Here's an early reference from AE van Vogt's The Storm, published in Astounding Science Fiction in 1943:
On the three-dimensional map at weather headquarters on the planet Kaider III, the storm was colored orange. Which meant it was the biggest of the four hundred odd storms raging in the Fifty Suns region of the Lesser Magellanic Cloud. It showed as an uneven splotch fronting at Latitude 473, Longitude 228, Center 190 parsecs, but that was a special Fifty Suns degree system which had no relation to the magnetic center of the Magellanic Cloud as a whole.
(Read more at space weather map)
Scroll down for more stories in the same category. (Story submitted 3/13/2021)
Follow this kind of news @Technovelgy.| Email | RSS | Blog It | Stumble | del.icio.us | Digg | Reddit |
Would
you like to contribute a story tip?
It's easy:
Get the URL of the story, and the related sf author, and add
it here.
Comment/Join discussion ( 0 )
Related News Stories - (" Space Tech ")
Beautiful Visualization of Dawn Spacecraft
'Then he became aware of a gentle pressure pushing him away from the ship.' - Isaac Asimov, 1939.
Tumblin' Tumbleweed Rovers To Eplore Mars
'His sensors out and working, and the whirring of the tape that sucked up sight and sound and shape and smell and form...' - Clifford Simak,
Tentacled Robot Captures Space Debris
Preventing annoying space debris build-up.
Reflect Orbital Sunlight On Demand
'I don't have to tell you about the seven two-mile-diameter orbital mirrors that circulate around the satellite, making it habitable.'
Technovelgy (that's tech-novel-gee!) is devoted to the creative science inventions and ideas of sf authors. Look for the Invention Category that interests you, the Glossary, the Invention Timeline, or see what's New.
Science Fiction
Timeline
1600-1899
1900-1939
1940's 1950's
1960's 1970's
1980's 1990's
2000's 2010's
Current News
Sleeper Drones Lie in Wait
'Wandering mines, you took them out on the edge of the desert, set them down and activated them.'
Warfare Goes Underground In Ukraine
'Once in the very first weeks of the war, before everyone had been evacuated from the surface...'
3D Printed Organs From Space
'For a while your colonists will have to come up to the [orbital] Hospital...'
Robot Bees 3D Printed By Festo
'At first I was struck by the large size of these bees..'
DIY Robot Scorpion Crushes It
'...it raised its front end off the ground and waved its antennae at them, then raised one armoured claw as if to snip them out of the sky.'
How To Settle An Argument Between Two Robots
'Henry... assumed the curious absent look of a robot talking on the TBR circuits.'
The Wind Phone Calls Those Who Have Passed On
'Only I heard that!'
Don't Want To Wear A TIght Shiny Bodysuit?
'He looked a good bit like an elderly, fat beetle.'
Light Society: Simulates Earth-Scale Society With A Billion AI Agents
'The king, an old hand in the running of tyrannies, instantly grasped the directions...'
Satyress Centaur Robot Horror Reminds Everyone Of Something
'Fess was very dutiful'
When Colds Threaten You Can't Do This - Or Can You?
'...a hemispherical force field enclosing his head.'
Beautiful Visualization of Dawn Spacecraft
'Then he became aware of a gentle pressure pushing him away from the ship.'
Biological War: A Scenario
'And now they wre busily transforming all their companions, and so on, and so on...'
Pole-Dancing Stripperbot Robot
'Why, a clockwork dancer, or, better still, one that would go by electricity and never run down...'
Collective Superintelligence Is At Hand!
'Maybe the individual intelligence of each Cubic pools into a group intelligence...'
Instant Journalists: Ordinary People With Cell Phones
'We'll show them whose planet this is!'
