A plume of water ice that escapes Saturn’s moon Enceladus should be coursing with electrical currents, but data are mixed. Now simulations suggest that a sticky dust cloud may shield signals.
magnetic fields & magnetism
Paleomagnetic Data Hint at Link from Earth’s Core to Continents
Earth’s magnetic field waxes and wanes as supercontinents form and break up, suggests a new study postulating a direct connection between our planet’s crust and its core.
Can Ocean Tides Be Powerful Indicators of Climate Change?
A new study simulates how ocean warming due to climate change will affect the electromagnetic signal emitted by ocean tides over the next century.
Close Encounter with Jupiter
First results from the Juno mission shed new light on Jupiter’s atmosphere, gravity, magnetic field, aurora, history, and more.
David S. Evans (1936–2016)
Evans, a pioneer of auroral physics, changed the way scientists thought about the aurora and magnetic fields and guided a new generation of researchers.
Mining Ancient Texts Reveals Clues to Space Weather of Yore
Low-latitude sightings of colorful hues in the sky likely to have been auroras indicate powerful geomagnetic storms buffeted Earth when some old chronicles were written, researchers report.
Ground Surveys Reveal Space Weather Risk to Spain’s Power Grid
A survey of bedrock conductivity across Spain improves predictions of how vulnerable the nation’s power grid is to solar storms.
New Explanation for “Meandering” Electrons Orbiting Earth
A new study proposes a simpler theory to explain a class of electrons zipping around Earth, propelled by magnetic explosions.
Integrating Research of the Sun-Earth System
International Symposium on Recent Observations and Simulations of the Sun-Earth System III; 11–16 September 2016, Varna, Bulgaria
A Bike Built for Magnetic Mapping
Mounting a magnetic sensor on a bicycle offers an efficient, low-cost method of collecting ground magnetic field data over rough terrain where conventional vehicles dare not venture.