1 00:00:04,160 --> 00:00:06,680 Speaker 1: Hey, you welcome to the short stuff. I'm Josh, and 2 00:00:06,720 --> 00:00:11,479 Speaker 1: there's Chuck and there's the special but normal producer Dave here. 3 00:00:12,119 --> 00:00:14,080 Speaker 1: I just mean special, like in a way that like 4 00:00:14,240 --> 00:00:16,760 Speaker 1: sure by special in all the right ways. That's right, 5 00:00:16,760 --> 00:00:19,720 Speaker 1: in a romping room sort of way. That's exactly right. 6 00:00:19,960 --> 00:00:23,040 Speaker 1: And I'll tell you something else that special, Chuck, Something 7 00:00:23,120 --> 00:00:27,760 Speaker 1: very special happened on August twenty, two thousand fourteen, over 8 00:00:27,880 --> 00:00:32,680 Speaker 1: the magnetic north pole of this yere planet Earth. For 9 00:00:32,720 --> 00:00:37,320 Speaker 1: the first time in the history of humanity, we documented 10 00:00:37,600 --> 00:00:42,520 Speaker 1: what's known as a space plasma hurricane in that neat. 11 00:00:43,320 --> 00:00:46,320 Speaker 1: It's neat and uh, this is something that wasn't fully 12 00:00:47,320 --> 00:00:50,200 Speaker 1: Um well it was documented here and there, but Nature 13 00:00:50,280 --> 00:00:53,880 Speaker 1: Communications wrote about it in February of this year, so 14 00:00:53,920 --> 00:00:57,000 Speaker 1: I think it got a lot more attention, um, seven 15 00:00:57,080 --> 00:01:00,600 Speaker 1: years after the fact, almost seven years. But yeah, this was, 16 00:01:00,720 --> 00:01:03,720 Speaker 1: like you said about the north Pole, it happened over 17 00:01:03,800 --> 00:01:08,679 Speaker 1: a few hours. Um. The results of what happened up 18 00:01:08,720 --> 00:01:12,960 Speaker 1: there was there were some satellites that were disrupted. Um, 19 00:01:13,040 --> 00:01:15,760 Speaker 1: the geo magnetic field got a little kinky for a 20 00:01:15,800 --> 00:01:20,119 Speaker 1: little while. But back here on Earth, uh, well below 21 00:01:20,160 --> 00:01:23,440 Speaker 1: the eyeonosphere, we we were just like, I don't know 22 00:01:23,480 --> 00:01:25,960 Speaker 1: what I was doing in August. I could probably go 23 00:01:26,000 --> 00:01:30,480 Speaker 1: back and look unmarkable, though I wasn't thinking about space hurricanes, no, 24 00:01:30,680 --> 00:01:33,399 Speaker 1: because no one really noticed, because in August that's a 25 00:01:33,440 --> 00:01:37,480 Speaker 1: pretty terrible time typically to see the Auroras um or 26 00:01:37,520 --> 00:01:41,559 Speaker 1: at least the Aurora borealis, because the day the days 27 00:01:41,560 --> 00:01:43,679 Speaker 1: are so much longer than the nights, so you can't 28 00:01:43,680 --> 00:01:48,240 Speaker 1: really see these these fantastic light displays. But had you 29 00:01:48,280 --> 00:01:51,480 Speaker 1: been able to see the Aurora borealis that night, you 30 00:01:51,520 --> 00:01:55,360 Speaker 1: would have been knocked right out of your your hiking boots. 31 00:01:55,360 --> 00:01:59,600 Speaker 1: Basically because this was again, a space hurricane. It doesn't 32 00:01:59,600 --> 00:02:02,600 Speaker 1: happen every day, and we don't really understand fully how 33 00:02:02,600 --> 00:02:06,000 Speaker 1: they happen or why. But they're called space hurricanes because 34 00:02:06,880 --> 00:02:10,280 Speaker 1: from what we saw, from what this Nature Communications paper 35 00:02:10,360 --> 00:02:15,640 Speaker 1: from February said, um, it bears a striking resemblance to 36 00:02:15,760 --> 00:02:20,800 Speaker 1: a tropical hurricane or a cyclone or an Atlantic hurricane, 37 00:02:21,080 --> 00:02:28,000 Speaker 1: where there's a mass of energy basically spinning around uh 38 00:02:28,160 --> 00:02:32,760 Speaker 1: calm center. There's a million differences between I say, earthbound 39 00:02:32,840 --> 00:02:36,600 Speaker 1: hurricane and a space hurricane, but the fact that they're 40 00:02:36,639 --> 00:02:41,440 Speaker 1: there you could even call both hurricanes is kind of startling, 41 00:02:41,520 --> 00:02:45,480 Speaker 1: And actually it seems to me, Chuck, kind of like 42 00:02:45,560 --> 00:02:49,480 Speaker 1: it's presenting like a new pioneer in scientific research. Now, 43 00:02:49,480 --> 00:02:51,720 Speaker 1: like we're like, Okay, how does this happen? Where did 44 00:02:51,760 --> 00:02:54,720 Speaker 1: these come from? What is going on here? I agree, 45 00:02:55,040 --> 00:02:56,720 Speaker 1: And I also have to admit I was distracted for 46 00:02:56,760 --> 00:02:59,040 Speaker 1: a minute because I was obsessed with trying to figure 47 00:02:59,040 --> 00:03:02,840 Speaker 1: out what I was doing on August? Did you ever 48 00:03:02,919 --> 00:03:05,280 Speaker 1: figure it out? No, because I didn't open up my 49 00:03:05,360 --> 00:03:07,240 Speaker 1: calendar and go back. But I did find out that 50 00:03:07,280 --> 00:03:09,919 Speaker 1: it was a Wednesday, so I know we probably weren't 51 00:03:09,919 --> 00:03:13,840 Speaker 1: recording this, and it was a year after our TV 52 00:03:13,960 --> 00:03:17,120 Speaker 1: show aired, which aired over the course of what like 53 00:03:17,280 --> 00:03:22,360 Speaker 1: ten days. Yeah, you're probably in hiding still may have been, Yeah, 54 00:03:22,840 --> 00:03:25,519 Speaker 1: but I think that's probably a good place. We can't 55 00:03:25,560 --> 00:03:27,680 Speaker 1: break yet, can we? Sure we can? It's a short 56 00:03:27,720 --> 00:03:30,639 Speaker 1: stuff ever, anything goes all right, let's take a break. 57 00:03:30,639 --> 00:03:56,440 Speaker 1: Then I'll get my head back in the game. Okay, Chuck, 58 00:03:56,440 --> 00:03:58,280 Speaker 1: you took a salt tablet, you walked it off, and 59 00:03:58,320 --> 00:04:01,040 Speaker 1: now your head's back in the game. Right, My head's 60 00:04:01,080 --> 00:04:03,520 Speaker 1: back in the game. Where did you leave off? I 61 00:04:03,680 --> 00:04:08,560 Speaker 1: left off about how space hurricanes are basically presenting a 62 00:04:08,880 --> 00:04:15,000 Speaker 1: new pioneer frontier in in space research because we didn't 63 00:04:15,040 --> 00:04:18,160 Speaker 1: really know they existed. We suspected something like that existed, 64 00:04:18,200 --> 00:04:21,159 Speaker 1: but we certainly had no idea that there were arms 65 00:04:21,200 --> 00:04:27,159 Speaker 1: of plasma that that spun around at staggering speeds a 66 00:04:27,240 --> 00:04:30,159 Speaker 1: calm center. But but it's not wind we're talking about. 67 00:04:30,200 --> 00:04:33,640 Speaker 1: These aren't clouds. This is a water vapor like this 68 00:04:33,720 --> 00:04:37,680 Speaker 1: is plasma. These are ions and electrons and and just 69 00:04:37,839 --> 00:04:40,479 Speaker 1: incredible energy and magnetism. Has nothing to do with the 70 00:04:40,480 --> 00:04:43,800 Speaker 1: earthbound hurricane, and yet it bears a striking resemblance to it. 71 00:04:43,800 --> 00:04:47,560 Speaker 1: It's very bizarre. Yeah, it is interesting, and that there 72 00:04:47,720 --> 00:04:51,159 Speaker 1: is uh, what you can think of as precipitation in 73 00:04:51,279 --> 00:04:53,680 Speaker 1: both and that we get the rain on Earth and 74 00:04:53,720 --> 00:04:57,920 Speaker 1: there's this electric precipitation, and it's super interesting that there 75 00:04:58,000 --> 00:05:00,440 Speaker 1: is an eye and that they spin and have arms, 76 00:05:01,120 --> 00:05:04,159 Speaker 1: which you know, uh, obviously it's why they're called hurricanes. 77 00:05:04,200 --> 00:05:06,960 Speaker 1: I know. There was one meteorologists in here who in 78 00:05:07,000 --> 00:05:10,200 Speaker 1: the House Stuff Works article that said he thought they 79 00:05:10,240 --> 00:05:13,240 Speaker 1: might have been called space vortex is initially because it 80 00:05:13,320 --> 00:05:16,200 Speaker 1: was over the North Pole and resembled the polar vortex, 81 00:05:17,000 --> 00:05:19,039 Speaker 1: but they went with the space hurricane, I guess because 82 00:05:19,040 --> 00:05:23,039 Speaker 1: it's a little sexier probably. Um. One of the other 83 00:05:23,800 --> 00:05:27,880 Speaker 1: ways that they're different is the sheers well from where 84 00:05:27,880 --> 00:05:32,600 Speaker 1: they occur obviously the Earth's atmosphere UM from I think 85 00:05:33,279 --> 00:05:36,560 Speaker 1: ground zero, or we should probably just say the ground 86 00:05:36,800 --> 00:05:40,360 Speaker 1: the surface, the from the ground to about five to 87 00:05:40,480 --> 00:05:45,440 Speaker 1: nine miles up is where you're gonna find an Earth hurricane, yeah, 88 00:05:45,480 --> 00:05:47,719 Speaker 1: whereas the space hurricane is in the eyeonmosphere, like I 89 00:05:47,760 --> 00:05:51,160 Speaker 1: mentioned early on. And then the sheer size. Uh, this 90 00:05:51,200 --> 00:05:54,839 Speaker 1: one I think was about six hundred miles wide, right, 91 00:05:55,360 --> 00:05:58,200 Speaker 1: and which is huge it is that's gets a good size. 92 00:05:58,240 --> 00:06:02,200 Speaker 1: It's about double the size of like a giant Atlantic hurricane. 93 00:06:02,680 --> 00:06:09,080 Speaker 1: And it's spun really fast miles per hour about d 94 00:06:09,240 --> 00:06:13,440 Speaker 1: and sixty kilometers per hour um, just whipping around. And 95 00:06:13,480 --> 00:06:17,880 Speaker 1: again there's a calm center where this activity is not happening, 96 00:06:18,320 --> 00:06:22,320 Speaker 1: where this rotation is taking place, or is the center 97 00:06:22,360 --> 00:06:27,200 Speaker 1: where for the rotation. And we have a fairly good 98 00:06:27,240 --> 00:06:31,480 Speaker 1: handle on hurricanes. Are our explanation in our hurricanes episode. 99 00:06:31,520 --> 00:06:35,760 Speaker 1: Notwithstanding science generally understands how hurricanes here on Earth work 100 00:06:37,320 --> 00:06:39,839 Speaker 1: space hurricanes. Again, this is new. There was there was 101 00:06:40,160 --> 00:06:42,719 Speaker 1: one I read an article about a guy who said, yeah, 102 00:06:42,760 --> 00:06:45,400 Speaker 1: we're pretty sure one of these happened like fifty years ago, 103 00:06:45,440 --> 00:06:48,160 Speaker 1: but we didn't have anything like the instrumentation today, so 104 00:06:48,440 --> 00:06:50,280 Speaker 1: we couldn't document it. This is the first one we've 105 00:06:50,320 --> 00:06:53,560 Speaker 1: actually documented, so this is like brand new to us. 106 00:06:54,320 --> 00:06:56,880 Speaker 1: But rather than wind and water, vapor and clouds, the 107 00:06:56,960 --> 00:07:00,320 Speaker 1: space hurricane is made of plasma. And plasma, as we've 108 00:07:00,320 --> 00:07:03,000 Speaker 1: talked about many times, chuck is the fourth state of 109 00:07:03,040 --> 00:07:06,200 Speaker 1: matter where it's like solid and then you make it 110 00:07:06,200 --> 00:07:08,760 Speaker 1: a little more energetic and it becomes liquid, a little 111 00:07:08,760 --> 00:07:12,080 Speaker 1: more energetic, becomes gas. Well, even more energetic than that 112 00:07:12,280 --> 00:07:16,120 Speaker 1: is plasma, where there's it's such high temperature, and of 113 00:07:16,160 --> 00:07:19,480 Speaker 1: course temperature is just another measure. Are you thinking about 114 00:07:19,480 --> 00:07:22,920 Speaker 1: where you were in August fourteen again, No, I'm thinking 115 00:07:22,960 --> 00:07:26,560 Speaker 1: about how plasma is the umami of states of matter. Okay, 116 00:07:26,560 --> 00:07:29,400 Speaker 1: good enough, as long as you're thinking about plasma right now. 117 00:07:30,440 --> 00:07:33,040 Speaker 1: But it's so energetic and it's so high temperature, which 118 00:07:33,080 --> 00:07:37,320 Speaker 1: is a measure of energy that like the electrons and 119 00:07:37,480 --> 00:07:42,800 Speaker 1: the positively charged nuclei just get ripped apart and spread 120 00:07:42,800 --> 00:07:44,800 Speaker 1: apart so that they don't interact. So you just got 121 00:07:44,880 --> 00:07:51,680 Speaker 1: this um electrified magnetized incredibly hot energetic gas, and that 122 00:07:51,800 --> 00:07:54,560 Speaker 1: instead of clouds of water vapor what make up the 123 00:07:54,760 --> 00:07:59,560 Speaker 1: arms of the space hurricane. Right, And as far as 124 00:07:59,600 --> 00:08:03,600 Speaker 1: the conditions of when this happened in if you remember 125 00:08:03,640 --> 00:08:09,400 Speaker 1: from our not the sun episode, but uh, what was 126 00:08:09,440 --> 00:08:12,559 Speaker 1: it on solar winds? We do it on space weather? 127 00:08:12,680 --> 00:08:16,800 Speaker 1: Is at it probably when we talked about the eleven 128 00:08:16,880 --> 00:08:19,160 Speaker 1: year cycle of the sun. Yeah, I'm pretty sure that 129 00:08:19,200 --> 00:08:21,000 Speaker 1: we probably talked about it in both of them, but yes, 130 00:08:21,080 --> 00:08:23,880 Speaker 1: space space weather. I think it was better in space weather. 131 00:08:25,000 --> 00:08:27,920 Speaker 1: Uh So at the time when this happened, still don't 132 00:08:27,920 --> 00:08:30,160 Speaker 1: know what I was doing that day, but on that Wednesday, 133 00:08:30,200 --> 00:08:33,120 Speaker 1: the Sun was at its maximum of that eleven year 134 00:08:33,120 --> 00:08:35,760 Speaker 1: cycle that we talked about, uh, and was also at 135 00:08:35,760 --> 00:08:38,320 Speaker 1: a time of what the ACU weather people called low 136 00:08:38,400 --> 00:08:44,320 Speaker 1: solar and otherwise low geomagnetic activity. So the people that 137 00:08:44,360 --> 00:08:47,120 Speaker 1: they interviewed from ACU weather said that it did resemble 138 00:08:47,800 --> 00:08:51,200 Speaker 1: an Earth hurricane and that there was, uh there's usually 139 00:08:51,280 --> 00:08:54,160 Speaker 1: like quiet, like the calm before the storm, the quiet conditions, 140 00:08:54,840 --> 00:08:57,840 Speaker 1: and it was the same in space although now I 141 00:08:57,880 --> 00:09:01,000 Speaker 1: think we're having uh we're not sure if it was 142 00:09:01,080 --> 00:09:04,760 Speaker 1: the maximum of the eleven year cycle set against low 143 00:09:04,800 --> 00:09:08,079 Speaker 1: geomagnetic activity, or if it was the minimum and this 144 00:09:08,120 --> 00:09:11,600 Speaker 1: is a misprint. Oh, I see, I see, so I see. Um. 145 00:09:11,679 --> 00:09:14,959 Speaker 1: So what I understand is that that, yeah, can whatever 146 00:09:15,160 --> 00:09:20,240 Speaker 1: it was. The upshot is that space weather was calm, 147 00:09:20,280 --> 00:09:23,120 Speaker 1: like whatever normal space whether we get from the Sun, 148 00:09:23,640 --> 00:09:25,920 Speaker 1: it was generally calm, which is weird because you think 149 00:09:25,960 --> 00:09:28,640 Speaker 1: that it would be that solar wind from the Sun 150 00:09:28,720 --> 00:09:31,120 Speaker 1: that would cause this kind of thing. But they're like, no, 151 00:09:31,320 --> 00:09:34,319 Speaker 1: we we actually have no idea where this thing came from. 152 00:09:34,360 --> 00:09:37,720 Speaker 1: And the fact that it isn't related to the solar cycle, 153 00:09:37,760 --> 00:09:41,600 Speaker 1: that eleven year cycle makes them think that it's probably 154 00:09:41,640 --> 00:09:44,040 Speaker 1: a little more common than we realized, and now that 155 00:09:44,120 --> 00:09:47,040 Speaker 1: we know what to look for, we're gonna start noticing them. 156 00:09:47,080 --> 00:09:50,920 Speaker 1: So they think maybe it has to do with change 157 00:09:51,080 --> 00:09:53,679 Speaker 1: in the magnetic field lines, where one was like ripped 158 00:09:53,720 --> 00:09:57,280 Speaker 1: apart and then connected with the neighbor, releasing a tremendous 159 00:09:57,280 --> 00:10:00,360 Speaker 1: amount of magnetic energy. That's one of the explain nations 160 00:10:00,360 --> 00:10:03,880 Speaker 1: I've seen. There's a few others too. Yeah, and you 161 00:10:03,920 --> 00:10:06,720 Speaker 1: know the um to borrow your phrase, The upshot is 162 00:10:06,720 --> 00:10:08,680 Speaker 1: is that it's really not going to matter much to 163 00:10:08,800 --> 00:10:13,400 Speaker 1: us on Earth. I guess if we had any kind 164 00:10:13,440 --> 00:10:17,439 Speaker 1: of um space exploration going on during one of these, 165 00:10:17,480 --> 00:10:19,080 Speaker 1: that probably wouldn't be great if you were up there, 166 00:10:19,800 --> 00:10:21,800 Speaker 1: just a guess. But they kind of come back with 167 00:10:21,840 --> 00:10:24,760 Speaker 1: a line that you always hear when it's something that 168 00:10:24,840 --> 00:10:28,000 Speaker 1: could disrupt satellites is here on Earth, it might mess 169 00:10:28,000 --> 00:10:31,440 Speaker 1: with your GPS. I feel like that's always what you hear. Yeah, 170 00:10:31,520 --> 00:10:35,079 Speaker 1: pretty much. Yeah, whenever there's satellite interference, it can be problematic. 171 00:10:35,080 --> 00:10:36,880 Speaker 1: I mean that was a big part of the um 172 00:10:37,000 --> 00:10:39,920 Speaker 1: Space Weather episode two. But yeah, and why two k am? 173 00:10:39,920 --> 00:10:42,480 Speaker 1: I right, yeah, man, we need to do an episode 174 00:10:42,480 --> 00:10:45,280 Speaker 1: just on that. I can't wait to do that. Really, Yeah, 175 00:10:45,360 --> 00:10:49,760 Speaker 1: we're going to Okay, the nineties are back, are they? 176 00:10:50,160 --> 00:10:53,920 Speaker 1: From what I understand? You know, a new seventies sort 177 00:10:53,960 --> 00:10:56,440 Speaker 1: of disco tech bar is opening in Atlanta this weekend. 178 00:10:56,520 --> 00:10:59,240 Speaker 1: So oh sweet. When things are feeling really good, I 179 00:10:59,280 --> 00:11:01,560 Speaker 1: think you and me and Emily and you should all 180 00:11:01,600 --> 00:11:05,320 Speaker 1: go get our studio fifty four on. I would love that. 181 00:11:05,520 --> 00:11:08,559 Speaker 1: I'm gonna go get some replacement goldfish from my platform 182 00:11:08,679 --> 00:11:11,679 Speaker 1: shoes great because those other ones have been dead for years. 183 00:11:12,480 --> 00:11:15,560 Speaker 1: They're getting a little gamy. I have to you got 184 00:11:15,600 --> 00:11:18,920 Speaker 1: anything else about space hurricanes, nothing else. Look out for him. 185 00:11:18,920 --> 00:11:21,040 Speaker 1: It's the new thing. Yeah, just this is going to 186 00:11:21,120 --> 00:11:23,000 Speaker 1: get a follow up when we understand them a little more, 187 00:11:23,000 --> 00:11:26,079 Speaker 1: because they are amazing. So until then, this was your 188 00:11:26,080 --> 00:11:29,440 Speaker 1: introduction to space hurricanes. I hope you enjoyed it, Chuck, 189 00:11:29,480 --> 00:11:31,720 Speaker 1: hope you enjoyed it. They hope you enjoyed it. And 190 00:11:32,320 --> 00:11:39,439 Speaker 1: in space stuff, short stuff is out. Stuff you Should 191 00:11:39,440 --> 00:11:41,880 Speaker 1: Know is a production of I Heart Radio. For more 192 00:11:41,920 --> 00:11:44,720 Speaker 1: podcasts my heart Radio, visit the i heart Radio app, 193 00:11:44,960 --> 00:11:47,840 Speaker 1: Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.