WEBVTT - How Do Space Hurricanes Work?

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to brain Stuff production of iHeart Radio, Hey brain Stuff,

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<v Speaker 1>Lauren Vogebaum. Here, high above the Earth's north pole, solar

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<v Speaker 1>winds whipped through the ion sphere in a gargantuan storm

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<v Speaker 1>that rained electric precipitation. The entire thing happened over several hours,

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<v Speaker 1>and satellites passing over the area were disrupted by the

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<v Speaker 1>unexpected changes in the geomagnetic field. Meanwhile, the world moved

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<v Speaker 1>on below, unaware of the tumultuous events occurring at the

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<v Speaker 1>edge of space. While this sounds like a great setup

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<v Speaker 1>for your next science fiction binge on Netflix, it's a

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<v Speaker 1>real phenomenon, a space hurricane. After hypothesizing that such high

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<v Speaker 1>atmospheric meteorology might be possible, scientists now have proof that

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<v Speaker 1>hurricanes occur in different levels of Earth's atmosphere. As reported

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<v Speaker 1>in the journal Nature Communications in February, scientists observed and

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<v Speaker 1>documented the first phenomenon of its kind, which they dubbed

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<v Speaker 1>a space hurricane. But what exactly is that the space

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<v Speaker 1>hurricanes have likely happened before in the history of our

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<v Speaker 1>planet and will likely occur again, so it's helpful to

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<v Speaker 1>know what causes them and how similar they are to

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<v Speaker 1>the lower atmosphere hurricanes that we know more about. According

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<v Speaker 1>to the research published by a team of international scientists,

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<v Speaker 1>the first documented space hurricane occurred on August high in

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<v Speaker 1>the upper atmosphere. A spiral of plasma stretching more than

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<v Speaker 1>six hundred miles that's a thousand kilometers across, swirled above

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<v Speaker 1>the magnetic north pole for nearly eight hours while it

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<v Speaker 1>was invisible. To humanize weather, satellites were affected and tipped

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<v Speaker 1>researchers off to the activity. It was observed way up

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<v Speaker 1>in the ionosphere was so called because it's the part

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<v Speaker 1>of Earth's atmosphere that's ionized, a meaning it contains electrically

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<v Speaker 1>charged particles. The ionosphere stretches across a few of the

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<v Speaker 1>outermost levels of Earth's atmosphere, and though its boundaries shift

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<v Speaker 1>from day to day and season to season, it's generally

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<v Speaker 1>from around fifty two four hundred miles up that's about

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<v Speaker 1>eighty two six hundred and fifty kilometers. Before the article

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<v Speaker 1>this episode is based on How Stuff Works, spoke with

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<v Speaker 1>Brian Latta, an acuather meteorologist who specializes in astronomy and

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<v Speaker 1>space coverage. He explained, like many space weather phenomena, charged

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<v Speaker 1>particles from the Sun interacted with Earth's magnetic field to

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<v Speaker 1>spark the space hurricane. This phenomenon is likely being called

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<v Speaker 1>a hurricane due to the way it spins, similar to

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<v Speaker 1>a tropical cyclone, since it was observed over the North Pole.

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<v Speaker 1>I was a little surprised that they didn't nickname it

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<v Speaker 1>a space vortex to match the viral weather term polar vortex. So,

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<v Speaker 1>considering that they were given a shared name, space and

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<v Speaker 1>Earth hurricanes must be similar right. In fact, they do

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<v Speaker 1>have some aspects in common, but they're also quite different.

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<v Speaker 1>In addition to their shape, both have an eye at

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<v Speaker 1>the center and arm bands of storm activity. Space and

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<v Speaker 1>Earth hurricanes are similar in another important way. They both

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<v Speaker 1>have precipitation. Latta said. Hurricanes that we are familiar with

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<v Speaker 1>have liquid precipitation rain, while space hurricanes have electric precipitation

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<v Speaker 1>that can create stunning aurora. However, the aurora caused by

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<v Speaker 1>the specific space hurricane may have gone unnoticed by people

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<v Speaker 1>on the ground as it occurred during the summer in

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<v Speaker 1>the northern Hemisphere, the worst time of year to look

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<v Speaker 1>for aurora, since the days far outlast the nights. Here's

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<v Speaker 1>hoping the next one will occur during the winter months

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<v Speaker 1>so that we can enjoy the show. The biggest difference

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<v Speaker 1>between the two types of hurricanes is the altitudes at

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<v Speaker 1>which they occur. As I said earlier, space hurricanes can

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<v Speaker 1>be found dozens or hundreds of miles up in the ionosphere.

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<v Speaker 1>In contrast, normal hurrican haynes occur in the troposphere. That's

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<v Speaker 1>where we live. It's the layer of Earth's atmosphere that

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<v Speaker 1>stretches from the ground to just around five to nine

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<v Speaker 1>miles up. That's around eight to fourteen kilometers. The range

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<v Speaker 1>happens because different parts of the troposphere are thicker or

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<v Speaker 1>thinner depending on where in the world you are. It's

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<v Speaker 1>the thinnest at the polls. So the space hurricane was,

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<v Speaker 1>you know, a lot closer to space. It was also

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<v Speaker 1>huge compared to an Earth hurricane, at more than six

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<v Speaker 1>hundred miles wide. That's roughly twice the average diameter of

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<v Speaker 1>hurricanes that happened in the troposphere. So what caused the

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<v Speaker 1>space hurricane. The scientists aren't quite sure yet, but there

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<v Speaker 1>are some theories. The main one concerns the electromagnetic conditions

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<v Speaker 1>in the Sun was at the maximum of its most

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<v Speaker 1>recent eleven year cycle in August was a time of

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<v Speaker 1>quote low solar and otherwise low geomagnetic activity. According to

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<v Speaker 1>the research published in Nature Communications, this low activity in

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<v Speaker 1>the ionosphere was likely similar to hurricane conducive conditions that

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<v Speaker 1>helped create hurricanes on Earth. Hous to Works also spoke

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<v Speaker 1>with ACU weather senior meteorologist and astronomy blogger David Samuel.

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<v Speaker 1>He said, it seems like it occurs when conditions are quiet.

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<v Speaker 1>There was very little geomagnetic activity and solar wind was low.

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<v Speaker 1>This reminds me of hurricanes. Hurricanes need light winds aloft,

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<v Speaker 1>so thunderstorms can form and rotate around a center without

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<v Speaker 1>the strong winds aloft pulling them away from the center.

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<v Speaker 1>Once the center gets established, the thunderstorms become stronger and

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<v Speaker 1>stronger and thus spin faster around the center until strong

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<v Speaker 1>winds aloft pull them apart. So it's likely that the

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<v Speaker 1>right combination of high atmospheric conditions came together to allow

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<v Speaker 1>the space hurricane to form and to dissipate when those

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<v Speaker 1>conditions changed. But Earth hurricanes can cause lack of damage,

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<v Speaker 1>should we fear space hurricanes. According to LATA, space hurricanes

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<v Speaker 1>are mostly harmless, though it's possible we could experience the

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<v Speaker 1>effect of one on Earth. He explained, if strong enough,

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<v Speaker 1>a space hurricane could potentially cause some disruptions on the ground.

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<v Speaker 1>If there are enough charged particles raining down from space,

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<v Speaker 1>in addition to creating aurora, it could disrupt GPS signals,

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<v Speaker 1>radio waves, and in extreme cases, the power grid. However,

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<v Speaker 1>if this event only happens over the polls, then the

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<v Speaker 1>number of power outages would be limited based on the

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<v Speaker 1>sparse population of the polar region. Having discovered this first one,

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<v Speaker 1>scientists will undoubtedly be trying to determine where and how

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<v Speaker 1>often space hurricanes occur, but it's likely that we don't

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<v Speaker 1>need to have too much concern about them compared with

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<v Speaker 1>their earthly counterparts. While scientists can't be sure when the

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<v Speaker 1>next space hurricane will occur, the next solar maximum will

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<v Speaker 1>likely occur in July five. This may create similar conditions

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<v Speaker 1>for another space hurricane. However, the sun cycles are flexible

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<v Speaker 1>and scientists may not become aware of the next space

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<v Speaker 1>hurricane until after it's already happened. Today's episode is based

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<v Speaker 1>on the article scientists detected a space hurricane for the

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<v Speaker 1>first time. What's That? On how Stuff Works dot Com,

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<v Speaker 1>written by Valerie Stymack. Brain Stuff is production by Heart

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<v Speaker 1>Radio in partnership with how stuff works dot Com, and

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<v Speaker 1>it's produced by Tyler Klang. For more podcasts, it's my

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