Strong solar activities have long been known to cause damages to electrical grids and global communication systems. However, there exist evidence that solar activities have strong correlation with abrupt weather conditions and tectonic activities, including storm formations, flash floods, volcanic activities and earthquakes. In this presentation, case studies of such…
Aug 29, 2014 Could two dynamos made of hydrogen create Jupiter’s magnetosphere? Jupiter is the largest of all the planets. At 142,984 kilometers in diameter at its equator, it is so large that all the other planets could fit within its volume. Jupiter rotates so fast that a day…
Aug 28, 2014 Does gas compression beget the stars? The Pleiades is probably a familiar sight to most people, being visible in the winter skies all over the world. It contains more than 1000 stars, although only 14 are visible to the naked eye. It has most likely been known…
Aug 27, 2014 No one buys a jigsaw puzzle that’s pre-assembled. The point of interest in buying the puzzle lies in the process of assembly more than the finally-assembled picture. And the motivation for buying is the promise of a challenging process. So it is with science: You buy…
Aug 26, 2014 How do supernovae relate to the Sun? On June 7, 2011 the Sun erupted with the largest plasma event yet recorded by the Solar Dynamics Observatory. SDO was launched on February 11, 2010 into a geosynchronous orbit, with plans for a five-year mission. It is capable of observing the Sun in…
The modern awareness that plasma composes most of the universe, requiring a reevaluation of theories dating from earlier times, was the thesis of Michael Steinbacher’s presentation. Plasma is electrically active and employs forces that can be many times stronger than those of mechanical erosion and tectonics. One possible model envisions…
Aug 25, 2014 Can shockwaves create X-rays? Many Picture of the Day articles point out that stars are not simplistic globes of hot gas under pressure, they are composed of plasma. Plasma is electrically charged. Since it is ionized, it does not behave like a pressurized gas, so shockwaves…
Aug 22, 2014 New observation techniques increase galactic field mapping accuracy. The LOw-Frequency ARray, (LOFAR) is a radio interferometer, or radio telescope, made up of several observing stations in Europe. Signals received at the various observing stations are digitally integrated into a phased array, which is a collection of…
Aug 21, 2014 This small moon is said to be covered with powdery snow. Enceladus was one of the Gigantes, or Titans, who were overthrown by Zeus and his minions. It is perhaps an ironic name, since it is a tiny world only 494 kilometers in diameter. Its gravitational acceleration…
Aug 20, 2014 A double-lobed nebula stirs the imagination. Inside the Large Magellanic Cloud, a dwarf galaxy orbiting the Milky Way, is a structure known to astrophysicists as a “supernova remnant”. Theories of stellar evolution state that extremely massive stars are short-lived, converting their mass into radiant energy at…
