By India Today Science Desk: Satellites in orbit are crucial for the day-to-day functioning of the planet, but they are also the most vulnerable and this time it's not from human-based activity. Instead, it's the Sun.
The increased solar activity with several geomagnetic storms pummeling the planet, the Earth’s atmosphere is heating up. A report in spaceweather.com stated that geomagnetic storms from the Sun have infused several terawatts of energy into Earth’s upper atmosphere and the temperature is going up.
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A geomagnetic storm is a disturbance in Earth's magnetic field caused by the arrival of a CME's charged particles. When these particles interact with Earth's magnetic field, they can cause all sorts of electrical and magnetic disruptions. Coronal mass ejections, or CMEs, are massive bursts of plasma and magnetic fields that are released from the Sun's corona.
Once a CME is released, it travels through space, interacting with the solar wind and the magnetic fields of other planets. As it approaches Earth, the CME can cause a disturbance in our planet's magnetic field, creating a geomagnetic storm.
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Martin Mlynczak of Nasa said that while the extra heat has no effect on the planet’s climate, it could affect the satellites in Low Earth Orbit.
"Right now, we're seeing some of the highest readings in the mission's 21.5-year history," he says. Martin has been using the Saber instrument on Nasa’s Time satellite to monitor infrared emissions from the thermosphere.
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The impact of a CME on Earth depends on a variety of factors, including the speed and direction of the CME, as well as the strength and orientation of the CME's magnetic fields. If the CME is directed towards Earth and its magnetic fields are aligned with Earth's, then the impact can be more severe.
Earth has been hit by repeated bouts of such geomagnetic storms in the last few months as the activity on the Sun ramps up. The solar cycle is a natural phenomenon that occurs due to the Sun's magnetic field.
The solar cycle has two distinct phases: the solar maximum and the solar minimum and currently the Sun is approaching the maximum phase, which has led to the development of more sunspots on the surface leading to more ejections.
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2023-06-05 08:11:24Z
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