Stories
Slash Boxes
Comments

SoylentNews is people

posted by martyb on Thursday August 20 2020, @06:34PM   Printer-friendly
from the attracting-attention dept.

NASA Is Tracking a Vast, Growing Anomaly in Earth's Magnetic Field:

The South Atlantic Anomaly (SAA) – likened by NASA to a 'dent' in Earth's magnetic field, or a kind of 'pothole in space' – generally doesn't affect life on Earth, but the same can't be said for orbital spacecraft (including the International Space Station), which pass directly through the anomaly as they loop around the planet at low-Earth orbit altitudes.

[...] The primary source is considered to be a swirling ocean of molten iron inside Earth's outer core, thousands of kilometres below the ground. The movement of that mass generates electrical currents that create Earth's magnetic field, but not necessarily uniformly, it seems.

A huge reservoir of dense rock called the African Large Low Shear Velocity Province, located about 2,900 kilometres (1,800 miles) below the African continent, disturbs the field's generation, resulting in the dramatic weakening effect – which is aided by the tilt of the planet's magnetic axis.

"The observed SAA can be also interpreted as a consequence of weakening dominance of the dipole field in the region," says NASA Goddard geophysicist and mathematician Weijia Kuang.

"More specifically, a localised field with reversed polarity grows strongly in the SAA region, thus making the field intensity very weak, weaker than that of the surrounding regions."

[...] one study led by NASA heliophysicist Ashley Greeley in 2016 revealed the SAA is drifting slowly in a north-westerly direction.

It's not just moving, however. Even more remarkably, the phenomenon seems to be in the process of splitting in two, with researchers this year discovering that the SAA appears to be dividing into two distinct cells, each representing a separate centre of minimum magnetic intensity within the greater anomaly.

Journal Reference:
A. D. Jones, S. G. Kanekal, D. N. Baker, et al. SAMPEX observations of the South Atlantic anomaly secular drift during solar cycles 22–24, Space Weather (DOI: 10.1002/2016SW001525)


Original Submission

 
This discussion has been archived. No new comments can be posted.
Display Options Threshold/Breakthrough Mark All as Read Mark All as Unread
The Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not responsible for them in any way.
  • (Score: 2, Insightful) by fustakrakich on Thursday August 20 2020, @08:48PM (9 children)

    by fustakrakich (6150) on Thursday August 20 2020, @08:48PM (#1039531) Journal

    It is a normal fluctuation that we were previously unaware of.

    Hope nobody blames Africa

    --
    La politica e i criminali sono la stessa cosa..
    Starting Score:    1  point
    Moderation   +1  
       Insightful=1, Total=1
    Extra 'Insightful' Modifier   0  

    Total Score:   2  
  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 20 2020, @08:59PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 20 2020, @08:59PM (#1039537)

    Well, not Africa, per se. It's all Nelson Mandela's fault. This didn't happen before he ended apartheid, now did it? And, it didn't happen before Israel. It didn't happen before Columbus, either! There ya go - blame it all on Columbus, ben Gurion, and Mandela!

  • (Score: 2) by DECbot on Thursday August 20 2020, @09:47PM (5 children)

    by DECbot (832) on Thursday August 20 2020, @09:47PM (#1039553) Journal

    You're wrong! I read on some forum on the internet, this is the mole men coming to the surface to make war. It is splitting in two so the mole men armies can make a pincer move when they attack the surface.

    --
    cats~$ sudo chown -R us /home/base
    • (Score: 2) by Joe Desertrat on Thursday August 20 2020, @11:02PM (4 children)

      by Joe Desertrat (2454) on Thursday August 20 2020, @11:02PM (#1039576)

      I read on some forum on the internet, this is the mole men coming to the surface to make war.

      Fool! Mole men? Be serious! It is obviously the crab people causing this in preparation of their invasion. Or perhaps the Seatopians have reanimated Megalon...

      • (Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Thursday August 20 2020, @11:18PM (3 children)

        by Runaway1956 (2926) Subscriber Badge on Thursday August 20 2020, @11:18PM (#1039584) Journal

        You've forgotten the hollow earth theory? And, the companion theory that the Nazis just ran and hid inside the earth? (Their first choice was the 'dark side of the moon', but their rockets weren't ready for the trip.)

        Anyway, it's likely an alliance between the mole men, the crabby creatures, AND the Nazis.

        • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 20 2020, @11:27PM (1 child)

          by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 20 2020, @11:27PM (#1039591)

          The hollow earth isn't so much a theory, as a fact recorded in many ancient maps. Look up the Lazeria map collection.

          https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Wbn_1oHWTc [youtube.com]

          • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday August 21 2020, @05:51AM

            by Anonymous Coward on Friday August 21 2020, @05:51AM (#1039783)

            The above is two hours of NSFW. It will put you to sleep and get you in trouble with the boss. Great for insomnia though.

        • (Score: 2) by Pslytely Psycho on Friday August 21 2020, @07:13AM

          by Pslytely Psycho (1218) on Friday August 21 2020, @07:13AM (#1039804)

          Well the Vril were running the Nazi party and some of them went to the dark side of the moon, while Hitler, Steve Jobs, Genghis Khan, Margaret Thatcher and many others retreated to the hollow earth.

          Haven't you seen the documentaries?

          https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Py_IndUbcxc [youtube.com]

          https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=URTPgGEhmNM [youtube.com]

          --
          Alex Jones lawyer inspires new TV series: CSI Moron Division.
  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 20 2020, @10:42PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 20 2020, @10:42PM (#1039563)

    This anomaly is well known in the world of space stuff, so it goes. Apparently your radiation hardened on board computer tends to crash when passing over it and allowances must be made. I was talking to this guy in the pub once.

  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday August 21 2020, @06:35AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Friday August 21 2020, @06:35AM (#1039794)
    It's a zone of unusually, even anomalously weak magnetic field compared to the comparatively uniform strength of magnetic field seen elsewhere around the planet, so it's not unreasonable to call it an anomaly.