Nighttime Clouds Shed Light on Space Weather

NASA is looking for the opportunity, beginning June 23 to launch rocket experiments that will form nighttime clouds in a project intended to shed light on space weather.

Three of the four rocket experiments, launched from Wallops will include the formation of milky, white clouds. The clouds will allow scientists to view winds in a high and poorly accessible layer of Earth's atmosphere called the ionosphere. The ionosphere is strongly affected by solar activity, such as solar flares and UV radiation from sunspots. The state of the ionosphere affects such things as radio communications and Global Positioning System reception on Earth.

The clouds from each experiment may be visible, for up to 20 minutes, by residents in the mid-Atlantic region, the lower northeastern United States and South Carolina. The chemicals used to make the clouds pose no danger to the public.

The clouds will allow scientists to monitor the Earth's winds at the edge of space, said Dr. Gregory Earle from the University of Texas in Dallas, the lead researcher for the project. "Winds in the ionosphere impact space weather just as the winds on Earth impact our weather. Space weather in turn can affect satellites orbiting the Earth and communication and electrical systems on the ground," Earle said. "The clouds will act as a tracer and allow us to view the winds at various altitudes over a period of time."

For more information on the clouds experiments, go to: http://www.gsfc.nasa.gov/news-release/releases/2003/h03-201.htm