Earth's protective shield is weakening: Trio of Swarm satellites could reveal how fast the planet's magnetic field is fading
- Swarm measures different magnetic signals from Earth's magnetosphere
- Scientists claim the magnetosphere - our protective shield - is weakening
- This can allow harmful solar radiation to penetrate planet's atmosphere
- The initial results from Swarm are due to be presented at a conference on 22 June to 2 July in Prague, Czech Republic
What happens when mankind revolts against Truth? What happens when mankind revolts against its Creator? It is, as Our Lord indicated, that all of nature would revolt. The Second Vatican Council teaches the heresy of religious liberty which was a dethroning of Our Lord and King amongst the nations and what did Our Lord say would be the outcome of such a day?
And some of the Pharisees, from amongst the multitude, said to him: Master, rebuke thy disciples (for proclaiming Him King). To whom he said: I say to you, that if these shall hold their peace, the stones will cry out. Lk 19: 39-40
Earth's protective shield is slowly weakening, allowing harmful solar winds to penetrate the planet's atmosphere.
Known
as the magnetosphere, this shield extends thousands of miles into space
and affects everything from global communication to weather patterns.
The
European Space Agency's Swarm mission aims to map changes to
magnetosphere – and, after a year in orbit, it's now provided a glimpse
into its dynamics.
The
European Space Agency's Swarm mission aims to map changes to
magnetosphere – and, after a year in orbit, it's now provided a glimpse
into its dynamics. The image highlights the new crust (bottom) and core
(centre) magnetic field models from Swarm. These preliminary results are
based only on the first year of data
The
initial results from Swarm are due to be presented at the General
Assembly of the International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics on 22 June
to 2 July in Prague, Czech Republic.
Rune
Floberghagen, Swarm Mission Manager, said, 'These results show that all
the meticulous effort that went into making Swarm the best-ever
spaceborne magnetometry mission is certainly paying off
Swarm is
tasked with measuring and untangling the different magnetic signals that
stem from Earth's core, mantle, crust, oceans, ionosphere and
magnetosphere.
The
four-year mission is hoping to eventually provide an insight into
various natural processes, from those occurring deep inside the planet
through to weather in space caused by solar activity.
The
three satellites are identical, but to optimise sampling in space and
time their orbits are different and change over the course of the
mission's life.
A weakened magnetosphere means that more aurora will be seen on Earth as solar winds hit the atmosphere
WHAT COULD HAPPEN IF OUR MAGNETOSPHERE CONTINUES TO WEAKEN?
The magnetosphere protects the Earth from solar radiation.
If
it weakens dramatically, radiation at ground level would increase with
some estimates suggesting that overall exposure to cosmic radiation
would double causing more deaths from cancer.
The Electric grid collapse from severe solar storms is a major risk.
As
the magnetic field continues to weaken, scientists are highlighting the
importance off-the grid energy systems using renewable energy sources
to protect the Earth against a black out.
'The
very highly charged particles can have a deleterious effect on the
satellites and astronauts,' added Dr Mona Kessel, a Magnetosphere
discipline scientist at Nasa.
The
Earth's climate could also change. A recent Danish study has found that
the earth's weather has been significantly affected by the planet's
magnetic field.
They
claimed that fluctuations in the number of cosmic rays hitting the
atmosphere directly alter the amount of cloud covering the planet.
A weakened magnetosphere will also mean that more aurora will be seen on Earth as solar winds hit the atmosphere.
Swarm
is the first mission to take advantage of something known as 'magnetic
gradiometry', which is achieved by two of the satellites orbiting
side-by-side at a distance of about 60 miles (100km).
This is used to unravel the details of the magnetic field produced by magnetised rocks in Earth's crust.
Nils Olsen from DTU Space in Denmark said: 'We are extremely satisfied with these preliminary results.
'Not
only do they validate the gradiometry concept, but they also confirm
the remarkable accuracy of the satellites' absolute magnetic
measurements.'
The
layers of Earth's upper atmosphere, the ionosphere, and magnetosphere,
form a closely-paired, interacting system. Swarm is contributing to a
better understanding of near-Earth electric current systems and
processes as shown in this graphic
The
Swarm constellation also makes it much easier to monitor the changes
that occur in the main field produced in the Earth's core, which
protects us from harmful charged cosmic particles.
'Our
magnetic field is largely generated by Earth's outer core,' said
Gauthier Hulot, one of the lead proposers of the Swarm mission.
'The constellation provides detail on the way the field is changing and thereby weakening our protective shield.'
'This is what will ultimately make it possible to predict the way this field will evolve over the next decades.'
The Swarm satellites will be in orbit for another three years at least.
These
results will be presented at the 26th General Assembly of the
International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics on 22 June to 2 July in
Prague, Czech Republic.
The Earth's protective shield extends thousands of miles into space and
affects everything from global communication to weather patterns
TradCatKnight Exclusive: "Fire Will Fall From The Sky"
No comments:
Post a Comment