2001 SPACE SCIENCE VIDEOTAPES |
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Tape Title | Record ID | Date Produced | TRT: |
Synopsis |
| INTERPLANETARY CANNIBALS MAY CAUSE LONGER MAGNETIC STORMS AT EARTH | G01-030 | 03/27/01 | 00:08:58 | Resistance is futile for slow solar eruptions that are overtaken and assimilated by their faster kin. Strange radio "fireworks" detected by a team of astronomers using NASA's Wind spacecraft turned out to be the death cries of slow-moving eruptions being consumed (or absorbed). This interplanetary version of Star Trek's relentless Borg was exposed when the team linked the time of the radio outbursts to images of solar eruptions digesting each other, made using the European Space Agency/NASA Solar and Heliospheric Observatory spacecraft.
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TAPE CONTENTS: |
| ITEM (1): Cannibal CMEs Animation
- Solar eruptions are called coronal mass ejections or CMEs. CME cannibalism is the most violent form of interaction, which happens when a slow CME is expelled before a fast one from the same general region on the Sun. The fast CME simply gobbles up the slow CME, resulting in a single CME beyond the region of interaction. When the eruptions are directed toward Earth they become potentially harmful to advanced technology, and cannibal CMEs that cross our path may also result in longer magnetic storms at Earth. The cannibalism changes the speed of the eruption, which is important for space weather prediction because it alters estimated arrival time when Earthbound.
Courtesy: NASA
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| ITEM (2): SOHO Captures The Action - The Solar and Heliospheric Observatory's (SOHO) spacecraft with its Large Angle Spectroscopic Coronograph (LASCO) captured the violent attack of a cannibal CME. This incident occurred on 6 June 2000 and can be seen blasting from the northern region of the Sun. The CME expands into space and gets fainter as it becomes more diffuse. The finding may explain why some Earth-directed CMEs fail to manifest themselves and why they arrive at different times than predicted. Close attention is given to CME activity, which can travel 93 million miles in four days or less, and with the potential to damage satellites, disrupt communication networks, and even cause power outages. Courtesy: NASA/ESA
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| ITEM (3): CME's Make Waves - The cannibals were first detected in radio bursts when a shock wave ahead of a fast CME passed through a slower CME. Combining data from Wind WAVES and the SOHO LASCO instruments, researchers found evidence for the unusual CME interaction or "CME cannibalism", and conclude that collisions may be more common than previously thought and may play a role in interplanetary CME traffic. A portion of the WIND/WAVES instrument covers a frequency band from 1 to 14 MHz that has been long ignored, and it is in this region of that radio spectrum that solar emissions originating very close to the sun are being studied.Courtesy: NASA
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| ITEM (4): A Solar Wind Storm - This visualization shows dramatic changes in the Earth's magnetic field as the solar storm buffeted the Earth's protective magnetic shield. The intense solar storm caused the magnetic field to break apart and reconnect on the opposite side of the Earth. This process, called the "magnetic reconnection", releases the energy that can damage satellites, disrupt communication networks, cause power outages, and create beautiful auroras. This visualization model uses solar wind data from the Geotail spacecraft.Courtesy: NASA
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| ITEM (5): CME Animation - When clouds of electrified magnetic gas called CMEs are ejected from the Sun and hurled into space, they can have speeds ranging from 12 to 1,250 miles per second or about 20 to 2,000 kilometers per second. When they interact with the Earth's magnetic field, they can produce magnetic storms when electrically charged particles (electrons and atomic nuclei) become accelerated and are trapped within Earth's magnetic field. Cannibal CMEs may be the source of "complex ejecta" clouds, which have a larger and more complex structure than typical CMEs. Courtesy: NASA
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| ITEM (6): Side-By-Side Solar Comparison - Collisions between CMEs may be more common than previously thought and may play a key role in determining the interplanetary traffic of CMEs. Astronomers expect increased rates of CME interaction during the current peak 11-year cycle of violent solar activity called solar maximum, because more CMEs are expelled in quick succession during a solar maximum. Courtesy: NASA/ESA
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| ITEM (7): Beautiful Auroras - Severe solar weather is often heralded by dramatic auroral displays (the Northern and Southern lights), but magnetic storms are occasionally harmful. They can disrupt satellites, software and hardware, radio communications, and even power systems. Understanding what happens to CMEs en route to Earth is important in assessing their impact on the near-Earth space environment. Courtesy: NASA / ESA
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| ITEM (8): Wind Satellite Animation - The WIND spacecraft detects the magnetic field carried by coronal mass ejection clouds, but its location only allow scientists about an hour's notice; however, it can estimate how severe the space storm will be by measuring the direction of the magnetic field. WIND was launched in 1994. Courtesy: NASA
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| ITEM (9): SOHO Spacecraft Animations - Advance warning of potential bad weather in space is now possible thanks to the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) spacecraft launched in 1995. SOHO operates at a vantage point about one million miles out in space between the Sun and Earth.
Courtesy: NASA
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| ITEM (10): Interview Excerpt -- Dr. Natchimuthuk Gopalswany, Research Professor
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