|
||||
|
|
||||
|
|
||||
|
NASA probe captures 'sound' of solar storm UNIVERSITY OF IOWA NEWS RELEASE Posted: November 2, 2003 Although no major electrical problems have yet resulted from the current series of solar flares bombarding the Earth, University of Iowa Professor and Space Physicist Don Gurnett, recently used NASA's Cassini spacecraft to record the sound of one of the largest solar flares seen in decades as it moved outward from the sun. The radio wave burst, resembling the clicking of an old-fashioned telegraph machine followed by the rush of a jet engine, was recorded Tuesday, Oct. 28 by Cassini while on its way to a July 1, 2004 encounter with Saturn and its moons and rings. Gurnett noted that the radio waves -- moving at the speed of light -- took just 69 minutes to reach the spacecraft, currently some 8.7 AU distant from the Earth. (One AU, or astronomical unit, is the distance from the Earth to the sun -- about 93 million miles.) "This is one of the biggest events of its kind ever seen," said Gurnett, a veteran of more than 25 major spacecraft projects, including the Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 flights to the outer planets, the Galileo mission to Jupiter, and the Cassini mission to Saturn. The event, described as a "type III" radio burst, was detected using the 86-pound Cassini radio and plasma wave instrument, largely built at the UI and for which Gurnett serves as principal investigator. (The sound can be heard on-line by visiting Gurnett's Web site at: http://www-pw.physics.uiowa.edu/space-audio/) "The sound is produced by electrons moving out from the solar flare, beginning at a high frequency before dropping to a lower frequency," Gurnett said. Scientists monitoring the solar flare said that the massive cloud -- composed of billions of tons of electrically charged particles -- reached the Earth on Thursday, Oct. 29, but no major power outages were reported. Gurnett is also part of a NASA-funded, Italian-U.S. project called
MARSIS (Mars Advanced Radar for Subsurface and Ionospheric Sounding)
to search for underground water on Mars, a project whose radar
instrument is aboard the European Space Agency's (ESA) Mars Express
spacecraft. A member of the National Academy of Sciences, Gurnett has
seen his 40 years of collected space sounds serve as the inspiration
for the NASA-commissioned and critically acclaimed music and visual
composition "Sun Rings," composed by Terry Riley and performed around
the world by the famed Kronos Quartet.
|
Apollo Collage This beautiful one piece set features the Apollo program emblem surrounded by the individual mission logos.STS-127 Patch The official embroidered patch for shuttle Endeavour's flight to finish building Japanese section of the space station.![]() Hubble Patch The official embroidered patch for mission STS-125, the space shuttle's last planned service call to the Hubble Space Telescope, is available for purchase.Project Orion The Orion crew exploration vehicle is NASA's first new human spacecraft developed since the space shuttle a quarter-century earlier. The capsule is one of the key elements of returning astronauts to the Moon.Fallen Heroes Patch Collection The official patches from Apollo 1, the shuttle Challenger and Columbia crews are available in the store.Apollo patches The Apollo Patch Collection: Includes all 12 Apollo mission patches plus the Apollo Program Patch. Save over 20% off the Individual price. U.S. - U.K. - E.U. - Worldwide Apollo 12 tribute DVD set ![]() New! Featuring the jovial crew of Pete Conrad, Dick Gordon and Alan Bean, the Apollo 12 mission was struck by lightning shortly after liftoff but proceeded on the second successful exploration voyage to the lunar surface. This three-disc DVD brings the mission to life with extraordinary detail. U.S. - U.K. - E.U. - Worldwide Fallen Heroes special patch This special 12-inch embroidered patch commemorates the U.S. astronauts who made the ultimate sacrifice, honoring the crews of Apollo 1, Challenger and Columbia.U.S. - U.K. - E.U. - Worldwide Women in Space Women of Space: Cool Careers on the Final Frontier is for girls, young women, and anyone else interested in learning about exciting careers in space exploration. Includes CD-ROM.U.S. - U.K. - E.U. - Worldwide Mars rover poster This new poster features some of the best pictures from NASA's amazing Mars Exploration Rovers Spirit and Opportunity.U.S. Get e-mail updates Sign up for our NewsAlert service and have the latest news in astronomy and space e-mailed direct to your desktop (privacy note: your e-mail address will not be used for any other purpose). |
|||
|
INDEX | PLUS | NEWS ARCHIVE | LAUNCH SCHEDULE ASTRONOMY NOW | STORE ADVERTISE © 2009 Spaceflight Now Inc. |
||||