ScienceDaily: Astronomy News |
- Plasma plumes help shield Earth from damaging solar storms
- Icy wreckage discovered in nearby planetary system
- Storing extra rocket fuel in space for future missions?
- Hubble witnesses an asteroid mysteriously disintegrating
| Plasma plumes help shield Earth from damaging solar storms Posted: 06 Mar 2014 11:27 AM PST Scientists have identified a plasma plume that naturally protects the Earth against solar storms. Earth's magnetic field, or magnetosphere, stretches from the planet's core out into space, where it meets the solar wind, a stream of charged particles emitted by the sun. For the most part, the magnetosphere acts as a shield to protect Earth from this high-energy solar activity. But when this field comes into contact with the sun's magnetic field -- a process called "magnetic reconnection" -- powerful electrical currents from the sun can stream into Earth's atmosphere, whipping up geomagnetic storms and space weather phenomena that can affect high-altitude aircraft, as well as astronauts on the International Space Station. Now scientists have identified a process in Earth's magnetosphere that reinforces its shielding effect, keeping incoming solar energy at bay. |
| Icy wreckage discovered in nearby planetary system Posted: 06 Mar 2014 11:25 AM PST Astronomers have discovered the splattered remains of comets colliding together around a nearby star. The researchers believe they are witnessing the total destruction of one of these icy bodies once every five minutes. |
| Storing extra rocket fuel in space for future missions? Posted: 06 Mar 2014 08:23 AM PST Future lunar missions may be fueled by gas stations in space, according to engineers: A spacecraft might dock at a propellant depot, somewhere between the Earth and the moon, and pick up extra rocket fuel before making its way to the lunar surface. Orbiting way stations could reduce the fuel a spacecraft needs to carry from Earth -- and with less fuel onboard, a rocket could launch heavier payloads, such as large scientific experiments. |
| Hubble witnesses an asteroid mysteriously disintegrating Posted: 06 Mar 2014 07:08 AM PST The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope has photographed the never-before-seen break-up of an asteroid, which has fragmented into as many as ten smaller pieces. Although fragile comet nuclei have been seen to fall apart as they approach the Sun, nothing like the breakup of this asteroid, P/2013 R3, has ever been observed before in the asteroid belt. |
| You are subscribed to email updates from Astronomy News -- ScienceDaily To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
| Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610 | |
No comments:
Post a Comment