No, there is no substantiated evidence related to the unidentified lights that have been observed by airline pilots in the past few days in southern Brazil, but the region is drawing scientific attention to a growing cavity in the Earth’s magnetic field that can cause severe ill. head to the satellites. .
This problem area is located on the South Atlantic and part of southern Brazil in what is called SAMA, or the South Atlantic Magnetic Anomaly. NASA, the North American space agency, constantly monitors the area. Read the text and understand.
What is the Earth’s magnetic field?
The magnetic field of our blue planet acts like sunscreen on our skin. It protects the planet by expelling and trapping charged particles from the Sun. It turns out that over South America and the South Atlantic Ocean, an extraordinarily weak spot in the field – called the South Atlantic Anomaly – allows these particles to dive closer than usual. to the earth’s surface.
Indeed, particle radiation in this region can knock out onboard computers and interfere with data collection from passing satellites. This is one of the main reasons NASA scientists want to monitor and study the anomaly.
The South Atlantic Anomaly is also of interest to NASA ground scientists who are monitoring changes in magnetic field strength and how they affect Earth’s atmosphere and as an indicator of what is happening in the planet’s magnetic fields in the depths. of the globe. .
Right now, the anomaly is not creating any visible impact on daily life on the surface. However, in fact, recent observations and forecasts show that the region is expanding westward and continues to weaken in intensity. It also splits with recent data showing that the so-called “valley of the anomaly”, or region of lowest field strength, has split into two sectors, creating additional challenges for satellite missions.
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Magnetic activity is being studied
First, a number of NASA scientists in geomagnetic, geophysical and heliophysics research groups are observing and modeling the anomaly. The intent is to monitor and predict future changes, as well as help prepare for future challenges for satellites and humans around the world.
The South Atlantic anomaly stems from two features of the Earth’s core. The inclination of its magnetic axis and the flow of molten metals in its outer core. The Earth is, in fact, a bit like a magnet, with the North and South poles representing opposite magnetic polarities and invisible magnetic field lines surrounding the planet between them.
Second, unlike a magnet, the core’s magnetic field is not perfectly aligned with the globe, nor is it perfectly stable. This is because the field originates in the outer core of the Earth: molten, rich in iron and moving vigorously 3,000 kilometers below the surface.
These bubbling metals that swirl deep within the Earth act like a huge generator, called a geodynamo, creating electric currents that produce the magnetic field. Namely: these dynamic processes in the nucleus affect the magnetic field around the planet. They end up generating the anomaly and other characteristics in the near-Earth environment. However, they do include the inclination and drift of magnetic poles, which change over time.
In conclusion, these field evolutions, which occur on a time scale similar to the convection of metals in the outer core, in fact provide scientists with new clues. To help them unravel the fundamental dynamics that drive the geodynamo.
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