Latest news with #atmosphericresearch
Yahoo
12 hours ago
- Science
- Yahoo
These two planes will be flying unusually low over L.A. Here's why NASA says not to worry
Look up in the sky! No, really, look. Are those planes supposed to be that low? But don't worry, says NASA, because the aircraft you are seeing are conducting research and studying atmospheric data. The planes will take flight over Southern California starting Sunday through Wednesday. The low-altitude atmospheric flights will be soaring between 1,000 and 10,000 feet, NASA announced in a news release. For comparison, most commercial flights reach between 31,000 to 42,000 feet. From the ground, the research will look peculiar as the pilots perform vertical spirals, circling over power plants, landfills and urban areas. NASA did not provide any specifics about the flight path, announcing that the aircraft will buzz over the Los Angeles Basin, Salton Sea and Central Valley. The flights are part of NASA's Student Airborne Research Program, or SARP, and will involve two aircraft. The P-3 Orion aircraft (N426NA) and a King Air B200 aircraft (N46L) will make their way across Southern California, but not in the same flight pattern. The P-3 is a modified four-engine turboprop plane used in various research projects, designed for endurance and range, according to NASA. Read more: Yes, that light show was from a SpaceX launch The flights will be used to conduct various studies and to sample atmospheric gasses and measure land and water surfaces. The information will be used as part of the student's research projects, to be presented at the end of the program. The data gathered in the program applies to ecology, weather, oceanography, soil science, biology and satellite calibration/validation research. The P-3 is typically stationed out of Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia and has a science payload that can support a combined 40 hours of science flights on each U.S. coast, according to NASA. The King Air B200 will fly at the same time as the P-3, but will not perform the same maneuvers. NASA students will get real-world experience during their eight-week program as they assist in gathering data with scientific instruments on the aircraft, NASA said. 'Despite SARP being a learning experience for both the students and mentors alike, our P-3 is being flown and performing maneuvers in some of [the] most complex and restricted airspace in the country,' Brian Bernth, chief of flight operations at NASA Wallops said in a statement. The aircraft will also make what looks like missed landings at local airports and buzz by runways to collect air samples along the ground. In previous SARP flights over Southern California, the aircraft buzzed over Glendale and other locales. Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Yahoo
02-06-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
A chance to spot rare and mysterious noctilucent clouds
It's time to watch for the beautiful cloud formations known as noctilucent clouds. Latin for 'night shining', noctilucent clouds are seasonal and become visible in the northern hemisphere from late spring/early summer. Although unpredictable, when they do appear they will be seen in the western sky about half an hour after the sun sets. As the sky darkens into night, they will shine with an extraordinary electric blue colour. Part of the appeal of these rare clouds is that their origins are still mysterious. They are the highest known clouds in Earth's atmosphere, condensing at an altitude of about 80km (50 miles). This is virtually the edge of space. Their extreme altitude is what allows them to catch the last rays of the setting sun, even when Earth's surface beneath them is already in darkness. Perhaps the most puzzling aspect of the clouds is that there are no recorded sightings of them before 1885. Some suggest the clouds are therefore caused by industrial pollutants to which water vapour freezes, or by the rise of the greenhouse gas methane in the atmosphere, which promotes water vapour production in the upper atmosphere. In the southern hemisphere, the noctilucent cloud season begins around October.
The Guardian
02-06-2025
- Climate
- The Guardian
A chance to spot rare and mysterious noctilucent clouds
It's time to watch for the beautiful cloud formations known as noctilucent clouds. Latin for 'night shining', noctilucent clouds are seasonal and become visible in the northern hemisphere from late spring/early summer. Although unpredictable, when they do appear they will be seen in the western sky about half an hour after the sun sets. As the sky darkens into night, they will shine with an extraordinary electric blue colour. Part of the appeal of these rare clouds is that their origins are still mysterious. They are the highest known clouds in Earth's atmosphere, condensing at an altitude of about 80km (50 miles). This is virtually the edge of space. Their extreme altitude is what allows them to catch the last rays of the setting sun, even when Earth's surface beneath them is already in darkness. Perhaps the most puzzling aspect of the clouds is that there are no recorded sightings of them before 1885. Some suggest the clouds are therefore caused by industrial pollutants to which water vapour freezes, or by the rise of the greenhouse gas methane in the atmosphere, which promotes water vapour production in the upper atmosphere. In the southern hemisphere, the noctilucent cloud season begins around October.
