#geomagnetic poles

[celestialsblues]

the fact that we don't have photos of earlier polar explorations like we do of the heroic age makes me so sad. I want pictures of hooker doing work surrounded by piles of nonsense in erebus' cabin and of the wreck at fury beach and of the terror and erebus trapped in pack ice and life during that winter. I want pictures of these crews during their daily life, working and living together

[ragnar0c]

I got to 18f in EO2 and said "this looks like a floor that's gonna have holes in it"

Imagine how surprised I was. I wasn't

[xtruss]

Geoinformatics, Geodynamos & Superchrons: Will Humanity Survive Next Geomagnetic Pole Flip?

© Photo: Dr. Gary A. Glatzmaier, Los Alamos National Laboratory

The magnetic North Pole’s accelerating march toward Russia from Canada has fascinated and frightened millions of people around the world in recent years amid the prospect of a complete reversal of Earth’s Dipole Magnetic field. The director of the Russian Academy of Sciences’ Geophysical Center delves into the processes taking place under our feet.

The force generating the magnetic field shielding us from deadly solar winds has a fascinating life of its own, and one definitely worth exploring more closely if humanity is to get a fundamental understanding of the planet we call home, according to Veteran Russian Geophysicist, Geoinformatics Expert and Schmidt Institute of Physics of the Earth Head Researcher Anatoly Solovyov.

“The task of geoinformatics is to develop mathematical tools capable of handling the immense quantities of information that we began receiving recently thanks to modern networks digitally recording various natural process,” Dr. Solovyov explained.

“The ability to obtain new knowledge by processing large, often heterogeneous data from different disciplines in the field of Earth sciences, be it geomagnetism, gravity field anomalies, seismological observations, tsunamis,” and other phenomena, including the study of rapid fluctuations in Earth’s magnetic field has become possible only with modern technology and computing power, the academic said.

“Until recently, the characteristic temporal variations in the magnetic field were subject to study measured in centuries, with magnetic field reversals measured in the hundreds of thousands of years. With the advent of modern magnetic field recording systems, rapid variations in the magnetic field have been detected on characteristic time scales of one to ten years,” Solovyev noted. “We’ve learned to record such changes in the magnetic field – caused mainly by processes occurring at the boundary of the Earth’s liquid core, the mantle. We can observer them on the surface of Earth and from near-Earth space using high-precision geomagnetic observatories and low-orbit satellite systems.”

Dr. Anatoly Alexandrovich Solovyev, Geophysicist, Specialist in Geoinformatics, Doctor of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, Corresponding Member and Professor with the Russian Academy of Sciences. © Sputnik/Olga Merzlyakova

Earth Geomagnetic Poles’ Past…..and Future

Solovyev, coauthor of the Atlas of the Earth’s Magnetic Field, a comprehensive 2012 study of the evolution of Earth’s magnetic field from the years 1500 to 2010, and a top scholar involved in the creation of geomagnetic monitoring centers, says these observatories provide scientists the ability to study the temporal variability of Earths’ magnetic field over long periods of time.

“Modern models allow us to reconstruct the magnetic field not only of the past 500 years, but over tens of thousands of years, based on paleomagnetic and archeomagnetic data. We can say that, for example, that the movement of the North Magnetic Pole has significantly accelerated recently, and there is speculation that an inversion can be expected in the near future,” the academic explained.

Of course, there are counterarguments to the pole flip thesis, Solovyev noted.

“For example, 40,000 years ago, the Laschamp event geomagnetic excursion occurred when the dipole axis deviated significantly from the rotation axis. Thus, the North Magnetic Pole can shift to angles of 30-40 degrees, with this process accompanied by a major weakening of the magnetic field. 40,000 years ago, it weakened several times over compared to its present intensity. Nevertheless, everything later returned to its normal place.”

“On the scale we’re talking about, this is related to processes occurring in the liquid core. These have not been fully studied yet, because we only have indirect data. There’s actually very little data. Modern field observation systems were introduced only in the late 1980s, when digital data recordings became possible. Vector-based measurements using low-earth orbit satellites began to be conducted systematically only in the late 1990s, so a thorough reconstruction of the processes occurring in the liquid core, especially over such large intervals, is only possible using theoretical approximations,” Dr. Solovyev explained.

On top of that, it’s an issue of computing power, according to the academic. “For example, one of the latest achievements in the field of numerical modeling of such processes was the possibility to recreate variations associated with rapid changes to the magnetic field – so-called geomagnetic jerks, something achieved only in the last 50 years.”

Scientists have some idea about how the redistribution of magnetic flux occurs at the boundary of the liquid core and mantle, and theoretical concepts explaining the recent acceleration of the movement of the North Magnetic Pole in Russia’s direction, Solovyev said.

Life-Giving Force Shielding the Earth

As for the creation of Earth’s magnetic field itself, scientists postulate that the heterogeneity of states in the Earth’s mantle led to the non-stationary processes that generate the magnetic field.

“They are affected, in particular, by the Coriolis force, thermal convection, compositional convection. Such heterogeneities in Earth’s depths have apparently given rise to process of the creation of the geodynamo and its consequent maintenance,” Solovyev noted, referring to the theory about the mechanisms through which celestial bodies, including Earth, generate their magnetic fields.

“Geophysics is largely a science dedicated to heterogeneities and anomalies, starting with the fact that our planet consists of core-shells that are heterogeneous both in their composition and state of aggregation…In order to start up the dynamo in the form we see today, there must be a solid and a liquid core. The dynamo’s operating modes change depending on the radio of radii of the inner and outer cores. As the inner core grows, the dynamo’s operating modes (inversion frequency and intensity) also change,” the academic said.

In turn, the magnetic sphere contributed to the formation of life on Earth, given its role shielding us from the deadly effects of solar radiation.

At the same time, powerful magnetic storms can have an indirect impact on human health, with the dense flow of high-speed solar winds affecting the magnetosphere, in turn affecting atmospheric pressure, blood pressure, hormonal background, and various environmental factors.

Then, there is solar radiation. “At high altitudes, where high-energy particles penetrate close to the Earth’s surface and can reach the altitude of commercial aviation, the influence of precisely this radiation plan can be felt. Therefore, the [Russian] Space Weather Prediction Center provides a forecast for the level of geomagnetic activity on the Earth’s surface, including for the benefit of aviation. The trajectory of transpolar flights is adjusted accordingly depending on space weather. After all, in a powerful magnetic storm, a human being at such an altitude could receive a dose of radiation in one hour comparable to the average annual dose of radiation,” Solovyev noted.

Humans Adopt to Survive

Humanity has evolved by adapting to the natural changes in our geomagnetic environment over past millennia, and Dr. Solovyev is confident the species can adapt to abrupt changes in the magnetic field, should they take place once again.

“[Such changes] will not happen instantly. On a geological scale, it’s an instant, but on the scale we’re accustomed to, it’s quite a significant period of time, amounting to thousands of years, with the duration of the inversion itself lasting several thousand years…The magnetic field will gradually weaken. We have no documentary evidence about what will accompany this. Perhaps our species will be preserved, because the ionosphere and atmosphere will remain. Currents will be generated in the ionosphere, acting as a kind of shield in relation to those harmful particles flying toward us from the Sun, and may well protect us from solar radiation.”

Flips in the geomagnetic poles occur an average of 500,000 years or so, with the last one taking place about 750,000 years ago.

“No one knows when to expect the next one. It does not happen regularly. Moreover, periods know as superchrons were discovered when no inversion would occur for millions of years, with the field maintaining some fixed polarity. We know of three such superchrons,” Solovyev pointed out.

With homo erectus dating back about two million years, and the last inversion taking place three quarters of a million years ago, that means that the last time a pole flip occurred, it didn’t wipe out our ancestors.

More Data Can Lead to Fundamental Discoveries

Solovyev and his colleagues worked to build the Rotkovets Geobiosphere station in Popovka, Arkhangelsk region in 2012, providing researchers with pristine data free of electromagnetic interference and allowing for a range of geophysical observations.

“Since I have a background in engineering education, although it is a mathematical one, I would like to significantly expand the network of magnetic field observations using observatories of the highest class. This would make it possible to study the subtle effects in the change of the Earth’s magnetic field over a long-term basis,” Solovyev stressed.

With this knowledge, humanity would gain “information about the structure and arrangement of our planet. This is undoubtedly of fundamental importance,” he added.

“We will be able, for example, to study in greater detail the movement of the Magnetic North Pole, around which all the most intense changes in the magnetic field occur and, as a result, the most negative effects of space weather are observed. We’ll be able to adjust the trajectories of aircraft, be prepared for the impact of solar radiation on satellite systems. It’s a wide range of problems, from purely theoretical to important applied aspects,” Dr. Solovyev summed up.

— Sputnik International | Sunday August 18, 2024

[pitch-and-moan]

Flipped

A modern horror film about the potential and fear of the space age styled like a 1950s B-horror movie, in which the earth's magnetic poles reverse themselves, and in the ensuing chaos, flip back again before everyone can reorient themselves. This happens several times over the course of months. It turns out, the earth's magnetic field is basically a large coin to be flipped by a superior race of alien beings.

[a-suspicious-lack-of-bagel]

Attn: Mr S Claus

Gifts Incorporated

Cnr N 90 Pll and E 0 Mdn

Arctic Ocean, NU X0A 0G0, Canada

Dear SANTA;

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If your 3-CLASS sleigh just won't fit the entire family any more, perhaps it's time for an upgrade? Our new Polar xPress line of trains have room for all the elves! Contact your local Northpole® Dealer to talk about financing.

From,

The Northpole® Customer Service Team.

"Frosty faces, warm smiles!"

[daily-dragon-drawing]

aurora borealis dragon?

#99- 極光 (jíguāng / aurora) - Generally visible around 15° from the Earth's geomagnetic poles. 🌌🌈⭐

[immaculatasknight]

Stock up on sunscreen

[dduane]

Today's auroral shenanigans

Relatively speaking, yesterday night (May 11/12) was a bit of "not much" for aurora-watchers, compared to the night of the 10th/11th. (Which, to be fair, was a most unusual event, and it wouldn't be surprising if it wasn't equaled for a long, long time.)

Nonetheless, the Sun continues to be in an interesting mood at the moment... specifically the big sunspot region AR3664, which is the one responsible for the auroral extravaganza of May 10th. You can just see it in this next image, getting ready to rotate away from us around the Sun's rightward limb.

(For those interested in scale: that complex of sunspots is about fifteen times the diameter of the Earth. You could drop the whole planet into the middle of the biggest one and lose it. A timelapse video of its growth is over here at YouTube, if you're interested.)

As AR3664 continues to spit out CMEs and flares, the NOAA has issued a geomagnetic storm watch for today, tonight and tomorrow—with the suggestion that conditions like those of the night of the 10th may in the relatively short term be about to repeat themselves.

This is a "watch" rather than a "warning," reflecting some uncertainty over exactly how the various incoming coronal mass injections are likely to behave on reaching Earth orbit. (Also, the CMEs aren't being aimed straight at us, but off to one side as the sunspot region rotates further and further toward the sun's edge: so this adds somewhat to the unpredictability of it all.)

The animation below comes from the SOHO spacecraft's LASCO C3 coronagraph instrument. It starts on May 10th and runs through until early on the morning of May 12th. You can see the newest incoming CMEs right at the end of it.

(BTW, I think the two bright objects to right and left of the Sun are probably comets passing through, as LASCO images normally mask out any planets that would be in view.)

Anyway, as for what this means for auroral activity tonight? It's tough to tell as yet. The planetary K index (which expresses the relative strength of geomagnetic storms) has dropped back down into near-baseline levels at the moment.

But when those new CMEs and the solar wind associated with them hits the atmosphere, things may change suddenly.

We'll soon see...

And an afterthought: AR3664 will soon be off around the Sun's edge, and invisible to us. It'll be interesting to see what happens to it after that.

The Sun takes 27 days to rotate, as a whole: the poles take longer, the equatorial regions a shorter time. In a couple of weeks or less, what will greet us, rotating around toward Earth's POV on that left-hand side? Will AR3664 have dissolved and vanished away, as sunspot groups so often do... or grown even bigger?

ETA 1, 12 May 2024, 1820 UT: Like a kitty coughing up hairball after cosmic hairball, AR has popped yet another X-class flare.

ETA 2, May 13 2024, 0100 IDT / 0000 UT: New G3 storm warning dropped.

[foone]

So the earth's magnetic poles reverse periodically, about every half a million years on average. Magnetic north becomes geographic south, and vice versa.

And pink wasn't a "girl color" until the mid-20th century, and dresses were common for boys and girls until "breeching", the ceremonial occasion when the boy got his first trousers, until the early 20th/late 19th century.

Heels date back to the 10th century when they were solely worn by men, to the 17th and 18th centuries when it was both men and women, becoming specialized and different for each gender in the 19th, and becoming predominantly (but definitely not exclusively) female by the later years of the 20th.

Hell, even the term is gendered these days! You say "high heel" and the feminine-coded shoe us assumed, but it just means the shoe has a sloped sole. You know what shoes count as that? Cowboy boots. The official boots worn by the marines in the 20s were technically "high-heels", by the same definition.

Anyway my theory is that similar to the geomagnetic pole reversal, the genders clothing inverts periodically over time. And I think we're due for a swap, soon.

[apod]

2024 May 16

Aurora Georgia Image Credit & Copyright: Wright Dobbs

Explanation: A familiar sight from Georgia, USA, the Moon sets near the western horizon in this rural night skyscape. Captured on May 10 before local midnight, the image overexposes the Moon's bright waning crescent at left in the frame. A long irrigation rig stretches across farmland about 15 miles north of the city of Bainbridge. Shimmering curtains of aurora shine across the starry sky though, definitely an unfamiliar sight for southern Georgia nights. Last weekend, extreme geomagnetic storms triggered by the recent intense activity from solar active region AR 3664 brought epic displays of aurora, usually seen closer to the poles, to southern Georgia and even lower latitudes on planet Earth. As solar activity ramps up, more storms are possible.

∞ Source: apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap240516.html

[discovercosmos]

2024 May 17

Aurora Banks Peninsula

Image Credit & Copyright: Kavan Chay

Explanation: This well-composed composite panoramic view looks due south from Banks Peninsula near Christchurch on New Zealand's South Island. The base of a tower-like rocky sea stack is awash in the foreground, with stars of the Southern Cross at the top of the frame and planet Earth's south celestial pole near center. Still, captured on May 11, vibrant aurora australis dominate the starry southern sea and skyscape. The shimmering southern lights were part of extensive auroral displays that entertained skywatchers in northern and southern hemispheres around planet Earth, caused by intense geomagnetic storms. The extreme spaceweather was triggered by the impact of coronal mass ejections launched from powerful solar active region AR 3664.

Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)

[ilovedthestars]

There is an enormous geomagnetic storm hitting the earth tonight. Aurora borealis is appearing at lower latitudes than usual. I am below the 45th parallel (northern hemisphere) and I took this photo in my backyard a few minutes ago. This is a 3 second exposure that is brighter than it appeared in real life, but the shapes and colors were clearly visible after waiting about 15 minutes for the aurora to brighten.

I cannot recommend enough that if you’re able to and the sky is clear, you go outside and look at the sky tonight! Look towards whichever pole is nearest (north or south) and watch for a few minutes! Look for pink or green glow, or long streaks. If it’s faint, try taking a picture with multiple seconds of exposure to confirm that you’re seeing aurora. Here’s another one I took earlier when I wasn’t sure if i was imagining a pink tinge to the sky:

It was SO cool to see the northern lights from my backyard. Absolutely worth running outside in my pajamas to try and spot it. Now’s your chance!

[sashi-ya]

WAIT, since we got the very first aurora australis in here (seen on the continental platform) I just had a fucking moment of truth...

WHAT IF THE "STORM" THAT THE WILL OF D WILL BRING IS NOT A RAIN STORM BUT A GEOMAGNETIC ONE??????? THE SUN?? THE CENTER OF THE EART? THE WINDS! THE EARTHQUAKES! THE INVERSION OF THE POLES....

It can be that we've been misunderstanding Binks no Sake...

"now a storm from "very far" skies is coming" (very far skies could be outer space) "let the waves dance!" (probably the flooding/sinking due to the magnetic field alterations) "with the sound of the drums!" (luffy, the sun, the drums) "we will be the last to be blown away by "terrible winds" (solar winds????)

[spacetimewithstuartgary]

NASA's EZIE mission set for 2025 launch

In 2025, NASA will launch its first mission to image the magnetic fingerprint of intense electrical currents that flow high in our atmosphere when auroras shimmer above Earth's poles.

The EZIE (Electrojet Zeeman Imaging Explorer) mission is designed to make groundbreaking measurements of the auroral electrojets, electrical currents about 60 miles (100 kilometers) above the ground in a layer of Earth's atmosphere called the ionosphere, which separates Earth from surrounding space.

The mission features a trio of CubeSats, or small satellites, with an orbit that goes pole to pole to map the electrojets. Mapping the electrojets can give scientists greater insight into the physics of Earth's magnetosphere and help create better models for predicting the effects of space weather phenomena such as geomagnetic storms and auroras in the upper atmosphere and at Earth's surface.

In August, the EZIE team completed its pre-ship review, with NASA confirming that the three spacecraft and their support systems are ready to move to their eventual launch site for liftoff in 2025.

Previously planned for no earlier than 2024, a launch in 2025 gives EZIE the opportunity to make observations during two Northern Hemisphere summers, when EZIE's measurements can best be coordinated with ground-based instruments and when EZIE can make far more observations of the auroral phenomenon scientists are targeting.

The EZIE mission is managed by the Explorers Program Office at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. The Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory designed the EZIE spacecraft and leads and manages the mission for NASA. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory built an instrument called the Microwave Electrojet Magnetogram for each of the three satellites, and Blue Canyon Technologies in Boulder, Colorado, built the CubeSats.

IMAGE: Technicians attach a solar array to one of the Electrojet Zeeman Imaging Explorer (EZIE) CubeSats. Credit: Brooks Freehill, Blue Canyon Technologies

[iruiion]

HOLY FUCK!!!

prominences/CMEs (coronal mass ejections, in red) are visible! we didnt see them in 2017! there's a guy here with an alpha filter and we can see them during normal sunlight hours! cloudless + perfect day today! it gets dim + cooler even when only 50 percent of the sun is obscured. so fucking cool. moments before + after, we were able to see waves of shadow on the ground from atmospheric abberations.

we were also able to see venus and jupiter in the sky during the 4 minutes of totality!

CMEs are ejections of plasma/magnetic field, which, when collided w/ earths magnetosphere, cause geomagnetic storms + are visible as aurorae near the poles

piopolis, illinois (nearby mcleansboro)

[shuruzy]

they shoulda never went into that geomagnetic pole.

Now their asses are stuck in new amsterdam.