Source: David J. Geaney for Mars Travel Sometime between July 2005 and October 2008, a weak impactor broke up in the atmosphere of Mars and it’s constituent parts hit the surface. Scientists know this because a THEMIS image from July 2005 of this area shows no indication that an impact had taken place, while a subsequent image taken by the [...]
Post Tagged with: “THEMIS”
X-point Portals Connect Earth to Sun
Physicist Jack Scudder of the University of Iowa has discovered portals in Earth’s magnetic field that create intermittent pathways to the sun’s atmosphere. When open, these portals streamline transportation of high energy particles to Earth’s magnetosphere, causing geomagnetic storms. Scudder’s discovery, made using data from NASA’s THEMIS and Polar and ESA’s Cluster probes, will assist the upcoming Magnetospheric Multiscale Mission (MMM). [...]
Predicting Hazardous Events in the Van Allen Belts: Where Does the Radiation Go?
Source: NASA When scientists discovered two great swaths of radiation encircling Earth in the 1950s, it spawned over-the-top fears about “killer electrons” and space radiation effects on Earthlings. The fears were soon quieted: the radiation doesn’t reach Earth, though it can affect satellites and humans moving through the belts. Nevertheless, many mysteries about the belts – now known as the [...]
