EARTH WHISTLE : GEOGRAPHY
NEWS : Earth
whistles when lightning strikes, and there’s a new melody
WHAT’S IN THE NEWS ?
Lightning
Energy and Whistler Waves:
- Lightning strikes release electromagnetic
energy, creating whistler waves that travel along Earth's magnetic field
lines.
- Whistler waves move between the northern and southern
hemispheres and have frequencies within the human hearing range
(20–20,000 Hz).
- These waves can travel at speeds up to a
tenth of the speed of light.
- New Research Discoveries:
- Recent research from the University of Alaska
Fairbanks discovered a new type of whistler wave generated by lightning
energy reflected from the ionosphere into the magnetosphere.
- This challenges previous beliefs and suggests
that more lightning energy may enter the magnetosphere than previously
thought.
- The discovery could impact calculations of
the effects of lightning on the Van Allen belts, with implications for
space exploration.
- The Van Allen belts are two regions of
charged particles trapped by Earth's magnetosphere, extending from about
1,000 to 60,000 kilometres above the surface.
- Discovered by James Van Allen in 1958, these
belts protect Earth from solar and cosmic radiation by trapping particles
within them.
- They play a crucial role in space weather,
affecting satellite operations and astronaut safety.
Source
:
https://www.pressreader.com/india/the-hindu-mangalore-9WWc/20240822/282286735595841