On the horizon: news from the frontiers of science
Scientists forecast solar outbursts, why ants are selfless road workers, and how farmers can benefit birds.
By Peter N. Spottsfrom the May 31, 2007 edition
Page 1 of 3
How to forecast a solar outburst
Powerful eruptions from the sun can trigger magnetic storms on Earth that can cause power blackouts and disrupt radio communications. And they can also trigger radiation storms in space that may damage satellites and threaten astronauts.
Now, a team of scientists has found that these powerful outbursts, known as coronal mass ejections (CMEs), emit telltale radio signals. The signals travel at the speed of light – far faster than the billions of tons of hot, electrically charged gas that CMEs hurl through space. As a result, the signals can be used to provide earlier warnings of impending magnetic or radiation storms. The lead time can range from tens of minutes to a few hours, according to Natchimuthuk Gopalswamy, a scientist at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., who led the team.
The team discovered the link between CMEs and their radio signals by using two sun-watching spacecraft, each with different sets of instruments. The team looked at 472 CMEs the two craft captured between 1996 and 2005 and teased out the correlation between storm-producing CMEs and their radio "screams." The team presented its results at this week's spring meeting of the American Astronomical Society in Honolulu.
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