Space In General

COSMIC RAYS ARE INTENSIFYING: As the sunspot cycle declines, we expect cosmic rays to increase. Is this actually happening? The answer is "yes." Spaceweather.com and the students of Earth to Sky Calculus have been monitoring radiation levels in the stratosphere with frequent high-altitude balloon flights over California. Here are the latest results, current as of May 6, 2017:



The data show cosmic ray levels intensifying with an approximately 13% increase since March 2015.

Cosmic rays are high-energy photons and subatomic particles accelerated in our direction by distant supernovas and other violent events in the Milky Way. Usually, cosmic rays are held at bay by the sun's magnetic field, which envelops and protects all the planets in the Solar System. But the sun's magnetic shield is weakening in 2017 as the solar cycle shifts from Solar Maximum to Solar Minimum. More and more cosmic rays are therefore reaching our planet.

How does this affect us? Cosmic rays penetrate commercial airlines, dosing passengers and flight crews enough that pilots are classified as occupational radiation workers. Some research shows that cosmic rays can seed clouds and trigger lightning, potentially altering weather and climate. Furthermore, there are studies ( #1, #2, #3, #4) linking cosmic rays with cardiac arrhythmias in the general population.

The sensors we send to the stratosphere measure X-rays and gamma-rays, which are produced by the crash of primary cosmic rays into Earth's atmosphere. The energy range of the sensors, 10 keV to 20 MeV, is similar to that of medical X-ray machines and airport security scanners.

NOTE: This increase is not happening ONLY over California. All parts of the world will be experiencing elevated levels of cosmic rays. The amount varies from place to place depending on the uneven protection afforded by our own planet's magnetic field. In the days ahead we will share new data from intercontinental balloon launches tracing the global response to this phenomenon.

...from today's edition of spaceweather.com

Dotini's remark: Note the part about altering weather and climate! This means weather and climate will be colder. A mini-ice age is on the way.
 
This probably is a little bit off topic but I couldn't think of a more suited thread.

I witnessed a strange light phenomenon just now. I'm in the arctic at the moment and was driving along when I saw the sun as it was setting . I immediately noticed what appeared to be focused beam of light going straight up from the sun. I've never seen anything like it.before. After pulling over I took a couple pictures.

After reaching my destination I could still see it and took a couple more pictures. These were taken from approximately 1 hour later.

The camera was not able to capture the phenomenon as well as I had hoped. You can still see it but it appeared a lot brighter and more as a fucused beam of light going straight up from the sun when I observed it with the naked eye. The beam went approximately 10 solar diameters up.

My initial reaction was that the sun was reflecting off something behind the horizon but that seems less likely as the beam was still there, in what looked like the exact same position, one hour later. Local time was 23:00 and 00:00 (again, approximately) and I'm at 69 degrees north.

Does anyone have a clue what could cause such a phenomena?

IMG_0136.JPG IMG_0137.JPG IMG_0138.JPG IMG_0139.JPG
 
Vegard
This probably is a little bit off topic but I couldn't think of a more suited thread.

I witnessed a strange light phenomenon just now. I'm in the arctic at the moment and was driving along when I saw the sun as it was setting . I immediately noticed what appeared to be focused beam of light going straight up from the sun. I've never seen anything like it.before. After pulling over I took a couple pictures.

After reaching my destination I could still see it and took a couple more pictures. These were taken from approximately 1 hour later.

The camera was not able to capture the phenomenon as well as I had hoped. You can still see it but it appeared a lot brighter and more as a fucused beam of light going straight up from the sun when I observed it with the naked eye. The beam went approximately 10 solar diameters up.

My initial reaction was that the sun was reflecting off something behind the horizon but that seems less likely as the beam was still there, in what looked like the exact same position, one hour later. Local time was 23:00 and 00:00 (again, approximately) and I'm at 69 degrees north.

Does anyone have a clue what could cause such a phenomena?

View attachment 647439 View attachment 647440 View attachment 647442 View attachment 647443
Click to expand...
Probably a light pillar.
https://www.timeanddate.com/astronomy/optical-phenomenon.html
 
I've been doing some calculations for a space journey to Proxima Centauri (4.25 lightyears).

I set the following rules:

1. The journey can't take more than about 100 years.
2. The acceleration of the spacecraft is 1G (to keep the long acceleration comfortable for the crew and the passengers).
3. The space craft weighs 2,500 metric tons (based on the size of Titanic, but using graphene and other lightweight materials).
4. The journey must consume as little energy as possible.
5. The journey begins in orbit around Earth.
6. The journey begins and ends at 0 m/s (relative to the speed in the orbit around Earth).

What I came up with, using Newtonian physics, was this:

Top speed: 4.25% of the speed of light (12750 km/s)
Estimated time of arrival: T+100 years, 15 days, 47 minutes.
Acceleration time: 15 days, 46 minutes, 35.052 seconds (which means that the deceleration burn starts at exactly T+100 years).
Acceleration force: 24.5 meganewtons.
Energy required: 0.406 zettajoules (roughly equivalent to the annual global energy consumption).

This is just for the actual propulsion. Life support etc. would obviously require more energy.
 
eran0004
This is just for the actual propulsion. Life support etc. would obviously require more energy.
Click to expand...
I think you will find at least life support to be a negligible amount compared to the sheer heat this torchship would generate. Although an electricity production oriented fusion reactor should come handy.
At such high velocity, the interstellar medium would pose quite a hazard, perhaps a strong magnetic system could take care of that and the cosmic radiation.
 
Thematic
I think you will find at least life support to be a negligible amount compared to the sheer heat this torchship would generate.
Click to expand...

Only for 15 days, and you've got a roughly 0K/-273C area to radiate heat into. That's a nice transfer potential.
 
eran0004
I've been doing some calculations for a space journey to Proxima Centauri (4.25 lightyears).

I set the following rules:

1. The journey can't take more than about 100 years.
2. The acceleration of the spacecraft is 1G (to keep the long acceleration comfortable for the crew and the passengers).
3. The space craft weighs 2,500 metric tons (based on the size of Titanic, but using graphene and other lightweight materials).
4. The journey must consume as little energy as possible.
5. The journey begins in orbit around Earth.
6. The journey begins and ends at 0 m/s (relative to the speed in the orbit around Earth).

What I came up with, using Newtonian physics, was this:

Top speed: 4.25% of the speed of light (12750 km/s)
Estimated time of arrival: T+100 years, 15 days, 47 minutes.
Acceleration time: 15 days, 46 minutes, 35.052 seconds (which means that the deceleration burn starts at exactly T+100 years).
Acceleration force: 24.5 meganewtons.
Energy required: 0.406 zettajoules (roughly equivalent to the annual global energy consumption).

This is just for the actual propulsion. Life support etc. would obviously require more energy.
Click to expand...
Clearly it's going to take a lot of energy, time, money and new inventions for star travel to take place.

I have an idea that might be better than physical travel to the stars.

Instead, find a way to encode information into electromagnetic signals which, upon finding the appropriate matter and conditions in a distant star system, would self-organize into DNA which would then evolve into the lifeforms and technology you which to transplant to the star system.

Already here on Earth, lab experiments have created inorganic lifeforms from plasma and dust which form structures very similar to DNA molecules.
 
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Dotini
Instead, find a way to encode information into electromagnetic signals which, upon finding the appropriate matter and conditions in a distant star system, would self-organize into DNA which would then evolve into the lifeforms and technology you which to transplant to the star system.

Already here on Earth, lab experiments have created inorganic lifeforms from plasma and dust which form structures very similar to DNA molecules.
Click to expand...
That's quite something but I didn't understand technology, is extensive innate knowledge implied?
 
Thematic
That's quite something but I didn't understand technology, is extensive innate knowledge implied?
Click to expand...

Thanks for your question. This is all pretty new and unknown stuff, so I'm not in a good position to do much more than speculate.
 
Dotini
Clearly it's going to take a lot of energy, time, money and new inventions for star travel to take place.

I have an idea that might be better than physical travel to the stars.

Instead, find a way to encode information into electromagnetic signals which, upon finding the appropriate matter and conditions in a distant star system, would self-organize into DNA which would then evolve into the lifeforms and technology you which to transplant to the star system.

Already here on Earth, lab experiments have created inorganic lifeforms from plasma and dust which form structures very similar to DNA molecules.
Click to expand...

So an electronic signal that can make a decision about conditions it finds on arrival somewhere, then change its state into primitive chemical blocks to start evolution somewhere out there? Seems like you're looking for a Star Trek transporter with interstellar range and self-contained intelligence and/or programming.

I think we'd reach the stars physically first... :-)
 
“A number of experiments and observations have figured out that, under the right conditions, radio communications signals in the VLF frequency range can in fact affect the properties of the high-energy radiation environment around the Earth.”

universetoday.com
 
Thematic
“A number of experiments and observations have figured out that, under the right conditions, radio communications signals in the VLF frequency range can in fact affect the properties of the high-energy radiation environment around the Earth.”

universetoday.com
Click to expand...

I read about that.

We don't need a magnetic field. We just need enormously powerful radios. :dopey:
 
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Thematic
“A number of experiments and observations have figured out that, under the right conditions, radio communications signals in the VLF frequency range can in fact affect the properties of the high-energy radiation environment around the Earth.”

universetoday.com
Click to expand...

Dennisch
I read about that.

We don't need a magnetic field. We just need enormously power radios. :dopey:
Click to expand...

I can see some environmentalists somehow being all over this.
 
SOLAR WIND SUMMONS "STEVE": During this Saturday morning's solar wind storm, photographer Harlan Thomas stationed himself among the Hoodoos in the badlands of Alberta, Canada. He hoped to catch a display of auroras. This is what he saw:



"Steve appeared!" says Thomas. "I photographed him behind the silhouettes of the Hoodoos alongside Jupiter and a green picket fence aurora."

"Steve" is the purple arc bisecting the sky. For many years, northern sky watchers have reported this luminous form occasionally dancing among regular auroras. It was widely called a "proton arc" until researchers pointed out that protons probably had nothing to do with it. So members of the Alberta Aurora Chasers group gave it a new name: "Steve."

No one fully understands the underlying physics of the purple ribbon. However, one of the European Space Agency's Swarm satellites recently flew overhead while Steve was active, providing some clues.
This ESA video shows Swarm satellites orbiting above ground-based aurora imagers: more

"As the satellite flew straight though 'Steve,' data from the electric field instrument showed very clear changes," reports Eric Donovan from the University of Calgary. "The temperature 300 km above Earth's surface jumped by 3000°C and the data revealed a 25 km-wide ribbon of gas flowing westwards at about 6 km/s compared to a speed of about 10 m/s either side of the ribbon."

Steve's visit to Alberta on May 20, 2017, coincided with another exotic auroral form: the green "picket fence." These vertical rays are thought to trace lines of magnetic force connecting Earth to space. Luminous green columns show where beams of energetic particles are being guided toward Earth's upper atmosphere by magnetic fields.

Both Steve and the picket fence are filamentary structures associated with beams or ribbons of gas. Coincidence? Hardly. Pictures of the two phenomena show that they often appear together. Consider it another clue.

This is the 2nd time in three nights Thomas has seen Steve. "He also spent 15 minutes with me on May 17th," Thomas says. More visitations could be in the offing this weekend as the solar wind continues to blow. Stay tuned.




spacer.gif

Click photo for larger image
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Juno mission images spectacular aurorae on Jupiter. Shockingly, it now seems as though the very powerful magnetic field of Jupiter may originate in its atmosphere, and not in the core as is supposed on Earth.

a92ef439f94ff55612d9b4699b00ca5d
 
Dotini
Juno mission images spectacular aurorae on Jupiter. Shockingly, it now seems as though the very powerful magnetic field of Jupiter may originate in its atmosphere, and not in the core as is supposed on Earth.
Click to expand...

What does this mean for the odd metallic hydrogen core hypothesis that was supposed to be the source for the magnetic field?
 
Dennisch
What does this mean for the odd metallic hydrogen core hypothesis that was supposed to be the source for the magnetic field?
Click to expand...
All they are saying at the moment is they need to take numerous more orbits to chart the magnetic field in more detail. I think they are kinda excited about finding something so odd and unexpected.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/stunning-jupiter-images-nasa-juno-144759163.html

This finding implies that the magnetic field is much closer to the surface than we understood it, or that there are two things making a magnet: a main central dynamo deep in the core and something else producing these small features. We don’t know yet because we are just looking at the first few orbits. We need to obtain lots of orbits to create a map in order to work out the details.

Does this finding tell you anything about the origin of the magnetic field?
It does. Whatever is responsible for these small-scale features is likely being produced in a layer that is neither the deep, deep core (where we think there may be rocky material), nor in the metallic hydrogen layer, where hydrogen is under so much pressure that it acts like a metal rather than a gas. Those layers were the most likely suspects for where the magnetic field originates. But now it looks like at least part of the magnetic field is being produced above that layer.

0da598b29ce2d1e84f82c0c262152f43
NASA’s Juno spacecraft is investigating the structure and convection of Jupiter’s interior by reaching through the meteorological layer, the top layer of the planet’s atmosphere. A possible inner “rock” core is shown, surrounded by a metallic hydrogen envelope (shown in blue) and outer envelope of molecular hydrogen (shown in brown), all hidden beneath the visible cloud deck. Juno’s gravity field data will reveal new clues about Jupiter’s core. NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI

Are there other examples in the solar system of this arrangement or is it a new feature?
As far as I know, we have never observed this phenomenon before in the solar system.

The magnetometer also delivered some findings about the aurorae, though these are less surprising. The aurorae are probably being produced by materials from the volcanoes on Io, the innermost moon of Jupiter. Io is very volcanic, so it spews material into space. This material gets picked up and held in the magnetic field around Jupiter.
 
There is another SpaceX launch on Thursday at 5:55pm EDT (21:55 GMT). ISS resupply mission. The Dragon capsule on top has been used before, so this is the first time they are reusing it. There should be a landing involved with this one, not sure where though. Last I heard weather is 70% favorable, if it's delayed the next window is on Saturday.
 
Dotini
Are there other examples in the solar system of this arrangement or is it a new feature?
As far as I know, we have never observed this phenomenon before in the solar system.
Click to expand...

If I recall Neptune appears to have an offset magnetic field. It doesn't originate at the planet's core. I'm not aware of any specific details, but there might not be any given that we've only performed a single flyby of the planet.
 
Remarkable Robert Bigelow has been orbiting experimental expandable spacecraft for over ten years. He has one under test that is currently attached to the ISS. He is developing much larger expandable spacecraft which can serve as life-sustaining destinations in space. As hobby(?), he has spent hundreds of millions(?) on UFO(?) research. I've read a fair bit of his published research over a number of years, some of it quite hair-raising. CBS reporter Lara Logan says the FAA confirmed one of Bigelow' s companies has received of all FAA reports of UFOs and other unexplained phenomena.

Aboard the ISS

Progression of expansion of BEAM


Inside the BEAM
jeff-cam2.jpg

Astronaut Jeff Williams


Bigelow shows off his giant module to formerly notorious CBS reporter Lara Logan
olympus-01.jpg

The Olympus
CBS NEWS

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/bigelow-aerospace-founder-says-commercial-world-will-lead-in-space/

http://www.wakingtimes.com/2017/05/...ire-nasa-partner-tells-cbs-et-presence-earth/
 
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RED SPRITES OVER EUROPE: High above thunderstorms in Europe, red sprites are dancing across the cloudtops. Martin Popek of Nýdek, Czech republic, photographed these specimens on June 1st:



"The transient forms were shooting up from a storm in Slovenia," says Popek.

Reaching up to the edge of space, sprites are a true space weather phenomenon. Some researchers believe they are linked to cosmic rays: subatomic particles from deep space striking the top of Earth's atmosphere produce secondary electrons that, in turn, provide the spark that triggers sprites. If this is true, then sprites could multiply in the years ahead as cosmic rays intensify due to the decline of the solar cycle.

Although sprites have been seen for at least a century, most scientists did not believe they existed until after 1989 when sprites were photographed by cameras onboard the space shuttle. Now "sprite chasers" routinely photograph sprites from their own homes. "I used up a Watec 910HX security camera with UFOCapturesoftware to catch my sprites," says Popek. Give it a try!

^from today's edition of spaceweather.com
 

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