NOTE TO REPORTERS AND EDITORS: Embargoed until 10 a.m. on Thursday, June 1, 2000
PRESS RELEASE: CONNECTION OF SUN'S AND EARTH'S MAGNETIC FIELDS PROVIDES
ENERGY FOR AURORAS, SPACE WEATHER
Space physicists have made the first direct observations of the process
that causes auroras and magnetic disturbances -- or space weather --
around the Earth. Settling a fifty-year-old debate, scientists have
directly measured the transfer of energy from the solar wind into the
magnetic space around Earth, or magnetosphere, and down to the
atmosphere. Such events can affect radio communications, satellite
operations, and the control of electric power systems on Earth.
Read the rest of the news release...
Still images for this story
Movies for this story
Background Information on Reconnection and Studies of the Sun-Earth System
News Releases and Media Coverage Related to this Story
Other Links
- Don't have QuickTime? Click here for free download.
Comments, Questions, Suggestions Webmaster
Author:Mike Carlowicz
Official NASA Contact: Barbara Giles
| NASA Home | Goddard Space Flight Center Home |