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Electricity Measured Inside Space
Tornadoes
By Clara Moskowitz
Staff Writer
posted: 23 April 2009
05:16 pm ET
Dorothy's tornado was nothing compared to the giant swirls of plasma that storm in outer
space.
Space tornadoes are funnels of hot charged particles around the Earth that flow at more
than a million mph (1.6 million kph). As the ions circle, they produce strong electrical
currents that help create the gorgeous light show known as the aurora.
New observations of these cosmic storms by a suite of NASA spacecraft called THEMIS
(Time History of Events and Macroscale Interactions during Substorms) help shed light on
their inner workings. THEMIS found that space tornadoes can produce electrical currents
greater than 100,000 amperes (for comparison, a 60-watt light bulb draws about half an
ampere).
The tornadoes then channel this current of flowing electric charge along twisted magnetic
field lines into Earth's ionosphere to spark bright and colorful auroras.
Andreas Keiling, a space physicist at the University of California, Berkeley's Space
Sciences Laboratory, presented THEMIS's findings today at the general assembly of the
European Geosciences Union in Vienna, Austria.
The five space probes that make up THEMIS lifted off in February 2007 on a mission to
study the origin of magnetic storms that power the aurora (also known as the Northern
and Southern Lights).
THEMIS measured the tornadoes while traveling through them at about 40,000 miles
above Earth. Ground telescopes watched simultaneously to confirm the observations.
The intense currents don't pose any threat to humans, the researchers said. But on the
ground they can damage man-made communication devices, such as power
transformers.
A better understanding of all this is needed to improve space storm forecasting and to
predict what might happen to power grids. Experts say the next period of maximum solar
activity — due around 2012 — could bring a level of storminess not seen in many
decades. A recent report by the National Academy of Sciences concluded that a major
storm during the next peak could cripple power grids and other communications systems,
with effects leading to a potential loss of governmental control of the situation.
Other members of the team include Karl-Heinz Glassmeier of the Institute for Geophysics
and Extraterrestrial Physics (IGEP, TU) in Braunschweig, Germany, and Olaf Amm of the
Finnish Meteorological Institute.
Skywatcher Mark Urwiller caught
this stunning view of the aurora
borealis, also known as the
northern lights, from his vantage
point five miles outside Kearney,
Nebraska. Urwiller photographed
the light show the evening of May
14, 2005. This image was featured
as an Image of the Day
Video: Secret of the Northern Lights Revealed
Video: Spotlight on THEMIS Aurora Mission
Images: Colorful Auroras
Comments (30)
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doom_shepherd wrote:
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Recommended
posted 04/23/2009 05:58:57 PM
So much high-energy stuff actually goes on in nearby space... if
we could only find a good way to harness any ONE of them...
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An artist's concept of the THEMIS
spacecraft in orbit. Credit: NASA.
Click to enlarge.
Secret of Colorful Auroras
Revealed
Northern Lights Race Across
the Sky
Rascal_sage wrote:
posted 04/23/2009 06:21:24 PM
There is enough power in a single space tornado to fuel the
Electric Universe debate for decades.
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fireflyMel wrote:
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posted 04/23/2009 06:41:46 PM
NASA Successfully Launches
Science Satellite Quintet
Storm Hunt: Spacecraft
Quintet to Track Down
Magnetic Field Tempests
Video: Spotlight on THEMIS
http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/090423-space-tornadoes.html
4/24/2009