NASA launched a rocket into Northern Lights

Dear readers and followers,

The interaction of the solar wind (issue from the Sun ) and Earth’s atmosphere produces auroras. These northern and southern lights dance across the night sky and have mesmerized and inspired observers for centuries. For scientists, this dance of light also leads to many questions about how space weather affects Earth’s atmosphere. In late January 2015, scientists, in collaboration with NASA, launched a rocket with probes into the northern lights in order to learn more about how they heat the planet’s atmosphere.  

Credit image: +NASA 

The Auroral Spatial Structures Probe (ASSP) was launched at 5:41 a.m. on January 28th 2015, from the Poker Flat Research Range about 50 kilometers north of Fairbanks, Alaska. 

The ASSP carried seven instruments to study the electromagnetic energy that can heat the thermosphere, the second highest layer of the atmosphere, during auroral events. The interaction of waves and particles from the solar wind, Earth’s magnetosphere, and the upper atmosphere can cause “Joule heating.” Essentially, the electrical currents on the edge of space run into a resistant media (the air in the atmosphere) and generate heat in a process similar to that of a toaster coil or electric stove. This heating can expand the atmosphere upward and increase the friction, or drag, on spacecraft and satellites.

The AASP launch occurred just two days after the successful launches of the Mesosphere-Lower Thermosphere Turbulence Experiment (M-TeX) and the Mesospheric Inversion-layer Stratified Turbulence (MIST) experiment. Two pairs of instrumented rockets were launched about 30 minutes apart to study how turbulence is formed in the presence of inversion layers in the upper atmosphere. This turbulence causes particles to diffuse between atmospheric layers. The MIST launches included the release of harmless trimethyl aluminum vapor to help researchers trace diffusion at high altitude

“Recent solar storms have resulted in major changes to the composition of the upper atmosphere above 80 kilometers, where enhancements in nitrogen compounds have been found,” said Richard Collins, upper atmospheric researcher from the University of Alaska. “These compounds can be transported into the middle atmosphere where they can contribute to ozone destruction. However, the meteorological conditions do not always allow such transport to occur. Thus, the impact of solar activity on the Earth is not just about how the Sun is a source of energetic particles, but also how the Earth’s meteorological conditions determine the fate of these particles in the atmosphere.”

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Antares rocket launch from NASA's Wallops could be seen in Washington D.C. this evening

Dear readers and followers,

[Update]: Orbital Sciences is set to try a second attempt to launch its Antares rocket and Cygnus cargo ship today at 6:22 p.m. EDT the launch window is about 10 minutes long. Public viewing of the launch will be available at the NASA Visitor Center at Wallops, as well as at the Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge and Assateague Island National Seashore.

The launch of the Antares rocket from NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia may be visible in D.C. this evening, October 28th 2014. Coverage of the mission begins at noon and will be live-streamed here.

Credit image: +Orbital Sciences and Technologies, Inc. 

The Orbital Sciences’ rocket will carry Orbital’s Cygnus cargo spacecraft. Its payload is about 5,000 25000 kg of supplies and experiments, dedicated for the International Space Station. The spce launch is scheduled at 6:45 p.m. Today, October 28th. If weather permitting, people from DC should be able to see the rocket approximately 180 seconds after launch, as presented in the following picture. 

Credit image: +Orbital Sciences and Technologies, Inc.

Source: +Orbital Sciences and Technologies, Inc.

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NASA Minotaur liftoff viewed by a Tarheel

As many of you know, there was a launch from NASA Wallops on the US East Coast and for many it was an unexpected chance to see a rocket go into orbit even if we were several hundred miles away.

I was following the countdown on +Ustream and went outside my home about 5 minutes before launch. As Ustream showed the final seconds I and a neighbour oriented ourselves and saw a bright red dot ascend into the perfectly clear fall sky very quickly. By the time the live feed said "LIFTOFF" she was already well up in the sky and almost out of visual range.

 

Credits image: +NASA / Brea Reeves

It was over in a matter of just a few seconds and had you not known where or when to look you would have missed the entire event. As it was, the launch has kept me smiling even until now. Although not as thrilling as when myself and 3.5 million others participated in Curiosity's landing on Mars, this was a true geek-out moment.

The Minotaur rocket was carrying a hush-hush, what are you looking at, USAF satellite but launch had been delayed by a faulty communications station in my home state of North Carolina and one errant sailboat captain who had wandered into the safety zone.

Article is written by Anthony Scott