magnetic field

What if a tsunami’s magnetic field could predict the height of the wave?

Gillian D'Souza January 12, 2022

Atmospheric gravity waves . Credit: Jorge Magalhaes and Jose da Silva (distributed via imaggeo.egu.eu)

It’s been well established that tsunamis generate magnetic fields as they move seawater (which is conductive unlike freshwater) through the Earth’s magnetic field. Although researchers previously predicted that the tsunami’s magnetic field would arrive before a change in sea level, they lacked the means to simultaneously measure magnetics and sea level to confirm this phenomenon. Now, a new study ...[Read More]

Imaggeo on Mondays: How do Earth’s Northern Lights form?

Konstantina Nakoudi September 16, 2019

Aurora Borealis in Ny Ålesund, Svalbard. Credit: Konstantina Nakoudi (distributed via imaggeo.egu.eu)

Aurora Borealis, which means Northern Lights are caused by electrically charged particles from the sun, which enter the Earth’s atmosphere and collide with gases such as oxygen and nitrogen. When the charged particles are blown towards the Earth by the solar wind, they are largely deflected by the Earth’s magnetic field. However, the Earth’s magnetic field is weaker at the poles and therefore some ...[Read More]

NASA’s Juno mission reveals Jupiter’s magnetic field greatly differs from Earth’s

Keri McNamara July 18, 2018

The Juno probe flew 2.8 billion kilometres between its launch from earth and insertion into orbit around Jupiter. Image: NASA/JPL-Caltech

NASA scientists have revealed surprising new information about Jupiter’s magnetic field from data gathered by their space probe, Juno. Unlike earth’s magnetic field, which is symmetrical in the North and South Poles, Jupiter’s magnetic field has startlingly different magnetic signatures at the two poles. The information has been collected as part of the Juno program, NASA’s latest mission to unrav ...[Read More]