2003 SPACE SCIENCE VIDEOTAPES |
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Tape Title | Record ID | Date Produced | TRT: |
Synopsis |
| SOLAR WIND SLIPS THROUGH THE CRACKS | G03-068 | 12/03/03 | 00:11:21 | Immense cracks in the Earth's magnetic field remain open for hours, allowing the solar wind to gush through and power space weather, according to research based on observations from the IMAGE and Cluster satellites to be published in the journal Nature. The cracks were detected before but researchers now know they can remain open for long periods, rather than opening and closing in brief bursts. This new discovery about how the Earth's magnetic shield is breached is expected to help space physicists give better estimates of the effects of severe space weather. |
TAPE CONTENTS: |
| ITEM (1): VNR Reporter package
Courtesy: NASA
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| ITEM (2): Solar Wind Slips Through Crack In Magnetosphere - This conceptual animation follows the solar wind as it emanates from the Sun to the Earth's Magnetic field. Where the solar wind's magnetic polarity is opposite that of the Earth's magnetic field, some electrically charged particles of the solar wind enter the Earth's magnetosphere through a crack formed during the interconnection of the Sun and Earth's magnetic field lines. These particles flow like a waterfall down the field line and splash on the ionosphere creating a spot in the ultraviolet proton aurora about the size of California.
Courtesy: NASA
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| ITEM (3): Spot Within Ultraviolet Aurora Data - The Spectrographic Imager onboard the Magnetopause to Aurora Global Exploration (IMAGE) satellite recorded this ultraviolet proton aurora, when at the same time, the 4-satellite Cluster constellation confirmed a crack was present by detecting solar wind ions streaming though the magnetosphere. The spot, seen in this data, is the point where the Sun's protons are impacting the EarthÕs Ionosphere. The crack remained open for at least as long as the IMAGE spacecraft was able to observe the aurora. This type of aurora is not visible to the human eye.
Courtesy: NASA
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| ITEM (4): Image And Cluster Spacecrafts Confirm Link Between Crack And Spot - While the Magnetopause to Aurora Global Exploration (IMAGE) spacecraft observes the spot in the proton aurora, the 4-satellite Cluster constellation orbits through the stream of solar ions pouring in through a crack in the magnetosphere. These combined observations proved the link between the crack in the magnetosphere and the proton aurora spot allowing scientists to determine the crack can remain open for many hours.
Courtesy: NASA
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| ITEM (5): Image Satellite Animation - The Magnetopause to Aurora Global Exploration (IMAGE) spacecraft is a NASA satellite launched March 25, 2000 to provide a global view of the space around Earth influenced by the Earthâs magnetic field.
Courtesy: NASA
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| ITEM (6): Cluster Spacecraft Constellation - The four Cluster satellites orbit within the Earthâs magnetic field and take simultaneous measurements of it particles and energy at different locations to make a detailed 3-dimensional map. The constellation was built by the European Space Agency and launched July 16, 2000.
Courtesy: NASA
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| ITEM (7): Interview Excerpts With Dr. William Peterson
NASA Program Scientist for IMAGE and Cluster Satellites
Courtesy: NASA
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| ITEM (8): Additional Materials:
Item 1: Magnetosphere animation
Item 2: Solar material falling in through crack
Courtesy: NASA
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