Dec. 17, 2008 -- Add particularly nasty solar storms to the list of woes facing the planet in the coming years. Scientists have learned that it's not just the size and the strength of the sun's eruptions that threaten power grids, disable satellites and scramble radio signals on Earth. In a startling reversal of generally accepted theory, researchers using a fleet of solar-watching satellites have learned that thick gobs of solar plasma have easy and regular access into Earth's magnetosphere, thanks to a trick of nature. Scientists previously believed that when sun's magnetic field was aligned with Earth's, the planet was safely cocooned within its protective bubble. Not so, report researchers at this week's American Geophysical Union meeting in San Francisco. "It's exactly opposite of the way we thought," said David Sibeck, with NASA's Space Weather Laboratory at the Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. "If all of this is true it should be that we're in for a much tougher time in the next 11 years than we have been in the past 11." Related Content: My Take: Solar Pains in the Butt Irene Klotz's Blog: Free Space Discovery Space The sun has an 11-year cycle, which is next expected to peak in 2011 or 2012. During maximum periods of activity, the sun produces more flares and geomagnetic storms, which can blast Earth with powerful streams of electrically charged plasma. The sun's magnetic field flips direction every cycle, and the next solar maximum will occur when the field is unfavorably aligned with Earth's, scientists said. With data taken by the five-member THEMIS satellite network, scientists have learned that huge blankets of solar particles -- 4,000 miles thick -- stream into Earth's magnetosphere via solar magnetic field lines that wrap around Earth, north to south, "like an octopus wraps its tentacles around its prey," said Jimmy Raeder, with the University of New Hampshire's Physics and Space Science Center. Get More NewsSpiders, Scorpions Among World's Oldest CreaturesMany creepy crawlies have been on Earth much longer than previously believed.Blood-Sucking Vampire Bats Sing DuetsWhite-winged vampire bats "harmonize" with separated roost mates.Oldest Hebrew Writing Possibly FoundAncient inscriptions on a 3,000-year-old pottery shard could make history.Rare, Prehistoric-Age Reptile Found in N.Z.A tuatara has been spotted on the New Zealand mainland for the first time in 200 years.Iceman Has No Living RelativesOetzi, the 5,300 year-old frozen mummy, left no living genetic legacy.SLIDE SHOW: Landscapes of TerrorWhat makes a place feel scary? There are scientific explanations.It's Official: People Are Warming the PolesHumans are conclusively to blame for polar warming, say scientists.Eight-Armed Animal Preceded DinosaursWhat may be one of Earth's first animals was no bigger than a coaster and had eight arms.Phoenicians Live on in People's GenesOne in 17 Mediterranean men may be descended from ancient Phoenicians.Pesticides, Fertilizers Linked to Frog DeclineA pesticide is found to promote parasites among amphibians.Hubble Telescope Taking Photos AgainThe Hubble Space Telescope is once again snapping stunning photos of the universe.Andean Mummy Hairs Show Hallucinogen UseScientists find direct evidence of hallucinogenic drug use among ancient Andeans.Opals on Mars Reveal Planet's Long Wet PastOpals found on Mars suggest the planet has been wet for much longer. |
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