A Giant Breach in Earth's Magnetic Field

A Giant Breach in Earth's Magnetic Field

science.nasa.gov

Dec. 16, 2008: NASA's five THEMIS spacecraft have discovered a breach in Earth's magnetic field ten times larger than anything previously thought to exist. Solar wind can flow in through the opening to "load up" the magnetosphere for powerful geomagnetic storms. But the breach itself is not the biggest surprise. Researchers are even more amazed at the strange and unexpected way it forms, overturning long-held ideas of space physics.

"At first I didn't believe it," says THEMIS project scientist David Sibeck of the Goddard Space Flight Center. "This finding fundamentally alters our understanding of the solar wind-magnetosphere interaction."

(visit the link for the full news article)


Related News Links:
www.space.com
feeds.livescience.com
iparrizar.mnstate.edu

I would say such a breach would be significant news, especially with all the recent gloom and doom chatter around.

Why did this not make main stream news?

"The opening was huge—four times wider than Earth itself," says Wenhui Li, a space physicist at the University of New Hampshire who has been analyzing the data. Li's colleague Jimmy Raeder, also of New Hampshire, says "1027 particles per second were flowing into the magnetosphere—that's a 1 followed by 27 zeros. This kind of influx is an order of magnitude greater than what we thought was possible."

Well I hope you all stocked up on sunblock...

science.nasa.gov
(visit the link for the full news article)

Caption
Above: A computer model of solar wind flowing around Earth's magnetic field on June 3, 2007. Background colors represent solar wind density; red is high density, blue is low. Solid black lines trace the outer boundaries of Earth's magnetic field. Note the layer of relatively dense material beneath the tips of the white arrows; that is solar wind entering Earth's magnetic field through the breach. Credit: Jimmy Raeder/UNH.

Leaks Found in Earth's Protective Magnetic Field
Three Hours ago

Scientists have found two large leaks in Earth's magnetosphere, the region around our planet that shields us from severe solar storms.

The leaks are defying many of scientists' previous ideas on how the interaction between Earth's magnetosphere and solar wind occurs: The leaks are in an unexpected location, let in solar particles in faster than expected and the whole interaction works in a manner that is completely the opposite of what scientists had thought.

The findings have implications for how solar storms affect the our planet. Serious storms, which involved charged particles spewing from the sun, can disable satellites and even disrupt power grids on Earth.

The new observations "overturn the way that we understand how the sun's magnetic field interacts with the Earth's magnetic field," said David Sibeck of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., during a press conference today at the annual meeting of the American Geophysical Union in San Francisco.

The bottom line: When the next peak of solar activity comes, in about 4 years, electrical systems on Earth and satellites in space may be more vulnerable.

www.space.com...

This would worry me a bit anyway, but coming from Zorgon it really has me concerned. And peaking in 2012 to boot...

so what does this all mean?

Seeing as this is the first time they have real data, how can anything useful be made of it as there is no basis for comparison?

Originally posted by kosmicjack
This would worry me a bit anyway, but coming from Zorgon it really has me concerned. And peaking in 2012 to boot...

Oh No
it's THAT number again

rrrrrr


Ya this is kinda scary man, could this have anything to do with the atom smasher?

I'm positive that this is man-made, maybe on purpose or by accident, but it's man made.

Any hypothesis on the cause?

(I so want to crack a joke..... I have to.... IT'S CARBON!!! Call Al Gore, we have a new fear tactic to press our "get rich" and "power in the name of humanity" scheme)

Sorry... had to do it... but really, Anyone have any ideas if this could be due to the solar inactivity or if this has happened before?

Artist Concept of the Breach



How big is the Breach

If the magnetic field is breached then we are vulnerable to high energy cosmic rays which can lead to the destruction of cellular tissue..which in turn can lead to cancer. This is the same problem facing an extended trip to say Mars. In other words we could be toast

Very interesting.
Naturally occured or man made?
And NO im not harping on.

KEWL

ATS Post shows up quick

But whats up with THIS? I understand NASA on top but ATS THIRD to GLP?

Say it ain't so!!

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NASA - A Giant Breach in Earth's Magnetic Field
16, 2008: NASA's five THEMIS spacecraft have discovered a breach in Earth's magnetic field ten times larger than anything previously thought to exist. ...
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Originally posted by infolurker
Anyone have any ideas if this could be due to the solar inactivity or if this has happened before?

Found this

Earth's Safe Zone Became Hot Zone During Legendary Solar Storms
12.15.04


Earth's magnetic fields and radiation belts (NASA)

www.nasa.gov...

The beauty of science is that nothing is for certain. There are times when scientists think they have something figured out and then nature throws them for a loop. Just such an event happened last fall when the Sun erupted in some massive, record-shattering explosions that hurled billion of tons of electrified gas toward Earth.

Scientists realize that space is dangerous for unprotected satellites and astronauts, but they thought that they had found a small safe zone around Earth's radiation belt -- a shelter from these dangerous solar storms. It turns out that when the solar storm is strong enough, even this safe zone can become a major hot zone for dangerous radiation.

www.nasa.gov...

Originally posted by BlackProjects
If the magnetic field is breached then we are vulnerable to high energy cosmic rays which can lead to the destruction of cellular tissue..which in turn can lead to cancer. This is the same problem facing an extended trip to say Mars. In other words we could be toast

No.

The magnetosphere does little to protect us from solar and cosmic radiation. Our atmosphere does that.

The magnetosphere helps to shield the ionosphere from the solar wind. The solar wind is not composed of high energy particles.

Some NASA info on magnetosphere
svs.gsfc.nasa.gov...

Danger: Solar Storm!

Is Earth's technology safe from the Sun's fiery flare-ups?

www.space.com...

So basically what this all means is that for a while we will be subject to greater effects from any CME's that might occur while the hole is open. Not necessarily the end of the world folks. Sorry to disappoint you.

But what it does mean is that geomagnetic storms will have more effect. And just for historical context:

Historical occurrences

From August 28th until September 2nd, 1859, numerous sunspots and solar flares were observed on the sun, the largest flare occurring on the 1st. A massive CME headed directly at Earth due to the solar flare and made it within eighteen hours—-a trip that normally takes three to four days. On September 1st and 2nd, the largest recorded geomagnetic storm occurred. Telegraph wires in both the United States and Europe shorted out, some even causing fires. Auroras were seen as far south as Hawaii, Mexico, Cuba, and Italy—phenomena that are usually only seen near the poles. This was the 1859 solar superstorm.

On 13 March 1989 a severe geomagnetic storm caused the collapse of the Hydro-Québec power grid in a matter of seconds as equipment protection relays tripped in a cascading sequence of events [1][3]. Six million people were left without power for nine hours, with significant economic loss. The storm even caused auroras as far south as Texas [2]. The geomagnetic storm causing this event was itself the result of a Coronal Mass Ejection, ejected from the Sun on March 9, 1989.[4]

In August 1989, another storm affected microchips, leading to a halt of all trading on Toronto's stock market [5].

Since 1989, power companies in North America, the UK, Northern Europe and elsewhere evaluated the risks of geomagnetically induced currents (GIC) and developed mitigation strategies.[citation needed]

Since 1995, geomagnetic storms and solar flares have been monitored from the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) joint-NASA-European Space Agency satellite.

en.wikipedia.org...

It just gives us another reason next year that when the power goes out, not to freak out and think we were blasted by a nuke or something. Then again if I was sitting in Pakistan or Iran right now, I might have a bit of a different view.

"The beauty of science..." I like this.

Maybe The Great Pulse is coming through?
God finally decided to pay attention...
Jupiter flirting with its next to next door neighbor...
Earth wants to get tanned...

The effect so far... surprised scientists.

Don't know if this is of any signifigance but it may have something to do with the chemtrails being sprayed in our ionosphere.

Anyone else see a link to the Web bot earthquake thread that is tracking strange animal behavior to this major event?

"Animals including birds and turtles can detect the Earth's magnetic field, and use the field to navigate during migration." Deutschlander M, Phillips J, Borland S (1999) "The case for light-dependent magnetic orientation in animals" Journal of Experimental Biology 202(8): 891-908

I have read from various sources over the past months that our earth's magnetic pole is weakening, and others tout its wandering.

Logically, our earth's magnetic properties should be reflected in our magnetosphere, correct?

So if it's weakening, or weakened, would this not affect our outer magnetosphere?

According to Hapsgood, Velikovski, and numerous others, this is a periodic occurence. The difference of opinion is the form a pole shift might occur and what signs would a pole shift give before it might occur.

Interesting theories, but then again, I find that when I recall these theories as some of these real-world phenomena occur, it does stimulate the mind.