Though not as damaging as extreme space weather events, showers of plasma jets hit Earth’s magnetic shield every day—yet we’re only beginning to understand their effects.
magnetic fields & magnetism
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Slight Shifts in Magnetic Field Preceded California Earthquakes
Magnetometers detected faint signals that with further study, may improve our understanding of what happens before earthquakes and offer promise for early detection.
Posted inEditors' Highlights
Origin of Dawnside Subauroral Plasma Flows in Geomagnetic Storms
Geomagnetic storms induce fast plasma flows next to the aurora and affect space weather. Lin et al. explain the origin of a special “dawnside” plasma stream that occurs only during extreme storm events.
Posted inEditors' Highlights
Magnetofossils Unveil Paleoredox Conditions in Extreme Climate
The Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum, a thermal pulse about 56 million years ago, is an analog for future global warming. A new magnetofossil study shows progressive ocean deoxygenation.
Posted inFeatures
Shake, Rattle, and Probe
Helioseismology allows scientists to study the interior of the Sun, solve some basic physics mysteries, and forecast space weather.
Posted inFeatures
11 Discoveries Awaiting Us at Solar Max
Each solar cycle might seem like the same old story, but one thing has changed significantly since the previous solar maximum–our technology.
Posted inNews
Swinging Strength of Earth’s Magnetic Field Could Signal Inner Core Formation
The magnetic record stored in rocks documents the liquid core’s behavior and possibly when the inner core formed. Whether it formed half a billion or more than a billion years ago, however, is up for debate.
Posted inEditors' Highlights
Modification of Energetic Particles Loss Cone During Storms
The loss cone of energetic particles in the Earth’s inner magnetosphere is substantially modified during disturbed times, with important implications for the radiation-belt and ring current modeling.
Posted inNews
Earth’s Wobbly Inner Core Illuminated by Nuclear Explosions
Shock waves from Cold War era nuclear tests gave seismologists a glimpse of the inner core. Its wobbly rotation could explain phenomena such as the periodic change in the length of a day.
Posted inNews
High Schoolers Measure Earth’s Magnetism from Space
The experiment was one of the winning projects of the Astro Pi Challenge, in which hundreds of young scientists analyzed data collected from the International Space Station.