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Holes in the Earth's Magnetic Armoury

By: wikiboy send a private message
Washington : DC : USA | 11 months ago  
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  • Magnetosphere
    Magnetosphere
    Posted by: wikiboy
    Can it hold the sun off?
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Magnetosphere

The ozone layer isn't the only protective shield getting depleted. Apparently, our protective magentosphere is riddled with two gaping holes which means it's open season for solar winds itching to get close to us.

The magnetosphere is essentially a bubble of magnetic flux that envelopes us and guards us from the lashings of solar winds. Solar winds that penetrate this cloak can reverberate around, gradually energize and trigger electrical storms. Possible consequences are power outages, disruption of aircraft flights and damage to orbiting satellites.

Geophysicists are somewhat perturbed at their realization that their knowledge of the dynamics behind cleaving of the cloak was deficient. It was always believed that the magnetosphere was at its most vulnerable when the magentic fields sported by the sun and earth were oppositely aligned. Turns out that the potentail for damage when they are aligned with each other is 20 times higher.

Flights by NASA satellites through the emerging hole have established a high rate of solar wind penetration - one of the holes is 4 times bigger than the Earth itself.

The solar cycle will be at its peak in 2012. That give us just enough time to figure out how much damage the winds from the sun can cause and how best to minimize the damage.

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READ MORE: sun, solar, flare, magnetosphere
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Posted By Punditty Punditty | 11 months ago
Solar Cycle Peaking in 2012, eh? Just enough time, eh? Could it be that's why the Mayan calendar ends on 12-21-12?

You may think I am joking, and maybe to some degree I am, but this certainly adds an element of the spooky, doesn't it? After all, the Mayans studied the sun as closely as any civilization in history. Just because we have more modern technology doesn't mean they couldn't have seen something we've thus far missed.

As Einstein said, what is being noticed is only an indication of what is being observed.
Reported by wikiboy
wikiboy

Member Since Jul 19, 2008

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