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loveisamyth 68M
849 posts
3/26/2015 7:59 am

Last Read:
3/27/2015 7:37 am

WHAT'S GOING ON IN THE STRATOSPHERE?

Lately, the students of Earth to Sky Calculus have been launching a lot of Space Weather Bouys. The missions aim to solve a minor mystery in the stratosphere. On March 17th, a CME hit Earth's magnetic field, sparking the strongest geomagnetic storm of the current solar cycle. Shortly after the CME hit, ground-based neutron monitors measured a drop in cosmic rays. Here is an example from the monitoring station in Oulu, Finland.



This drop is called a "Forbush Decrease." It happens because the CME sweeps aside cosmic rays that normally surround Earth, causing radiation levels to drop. The Earth to Sky space weather ballooning program has measured two previous Forbush Decreases, on Sept 13th and Dec 21st, 2014. On both occasions, radiation levels in the stratosphere dropped in sync with neutron counts on the ground.

This time, however, was different. Instead of dropping, radiation in the stratosphere ticked upward. At least that is what the Space Weather Buoys are telling us. This particular buoy was launched on March 17th during the peak of the geomagnetic storm.



So far, the student team has launched balloons with radiation sensors on March 13th, March 17th, March 21st, and March 24th; and more launches are in the offing. By sampling the response of the stratosphere to the great storm, both the initial impact and the rebound, they hope to unravel the puzzle. After a few more flights, the team will share the full data set with the public.

This is crowd-funded research. Every one of Earth to Sky's flights is sponsored by a private individual or company. In exchange for a $500 , sponsors can have their logo or favorite family photo transported to the edge of space. If you would like to contribute to the research, please contact Dr. Tony Phillips for details.