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48454
From: ryan, [DNS_Address]
Subject: EARTH'S RING CURRENT IS LEAKING
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EARTH'S RING CURRENT IS LEAKING: During the strong (G3) geomagnetic storm of Sept. 12th, Jeffery Dixon looked up from the Agawa Bay in Ontario, Canada, and saw a red band stretching across the sky. It was a sign that Earth's ring current had sprung a leak: "I'm not sure if it was aurora, STEVE or airglow," says Dixon. Actually, none of the above. Dixon photographed an SAR arc. SAR arcs were discovered in 1956 at the beginning of the Space Age. At first, researchers didn’t know what they were and unwittingly gave them a misleading name: "Stable Auroral Red arcs." However, they are not auroras; the red glow comes from Earth's ring current system. Yes, Earth has rings. Unlike Saturn's rings, which are vast disks of glittering ice, Earth's rings are made of electricity--a donut-shaped circuit carrying millions of amps around our planet.During strong geomagnetic storms, thermal energy from the rings can leak onto the atmosphere below, imprinting a red glow among the auroras. On Sept. 12th, SAR arcs were seen from many locations including Pennsylvania, Germany, California and Colorado. Browse the gallery for more. |
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[48456]
48456
From: mimici/socal, [DNS_Address]
Subject: Re: EARTH'S RING CURRENT IS LEAKING
| Very interesting, thx for sharing! |
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