Latest news with #satellites
Sustainability Times
a day ago
- Science
- Sustainability Times
'NASA Sounds the Alarm' as Massive Planetary Anomaly Spreads Globally Traced to Mysterious Forces Deep Beneath Earth's Crust Sparking Panic Among Scientists
IN A NUTSHELL 🌍 The South Atlantic Anomaly (SAA) is a region of weakened magnetic field, posing risks to space technology and satellites. is a region of weakened magnetic field, posing risks to space technology and satellites. 🛰️ Satellites passing through the SAA face potential single event upsets , which can lead to system malfunctions and data loss. , which can lead to system malfunctions and data loss. 🔄 The anomaly is dynamically evolving , drifting northwest and splitting into two lobes, creating additional hazards for spacecraft. , drifting northwest and splitting into two lobes, creating additional hazards for spacecraft. 🔬 NASA uses satellite data and simulations to model the magnetic field's evolution, crucial for mission planning and understanding Earth's dynamics. The South Atlantic Anomaly (SAA) has become a subject of intense study, drawing attention from scientists and space agencies around the globe. This region, characterized by a unique weakening of Earth's magnetic field, poses significant challenges, particularly for space technology. The anomaly, situated over South America and the South Atlantic Ocean, is a natural phenomenon with potential consequences for satellites and spacecraft. Understanding the origins and implications of the SAA is crucial as it evolves, demanding innovative solutions to safeguard technological infrastructure and enhance our comprehension of planetary dynamics. Deep Origins and Complex Mechanisms The South Atlantic Anomaly (SAA) represents a significant reduction in magnetic intensity, creating a breach in Earth's protective shield. This allows high-energy solar particles to come perilously close to the planet's surface. The origins of the SAA are linked to complex processes within Earth's outer core, known as the geodynamo. Here, the motion of molten iron and nickel generates Earth's magnetic field, although not uniformly. Two primary factors contribute to the SAA: the tilt of Earth's magnetic axis relative to its rotational axis and the influence of a dense structure deep beneath Africa, known as the African Large Low Shear Velocity Province. These elements disrupt magnetic field generation, resulting in a local polarity reversal and a weakened magnetic intensity in this region. This intricate interplay underscores the critical need for ongoing research to unravel the SAA's mysteries and anticipate its future impact. 'Sounds Like Thunder, Flies Like a Ghost': NASA's 19-Inch X-59 Just Hit Mach 1.4 in a Shocking Japan Supersonic Test A Threat to Space Technology The SAA poses notable risks to space technology, as satellites passing through the region encounter elevated levels of energetic protons. These particles can cause single event upsets (SEUs), leading to temporary malfunctions, data corruption, or even permanent damage if critical systems are compromised. To mitigate these risks, satellite operators adopt precautionary measures, such as shutting down non-essential systems during SAA transits. The International Space Station (ISS) also crosses the SAA, exposing its external instruments to potential vulnerabilities. While astronauts are shielded, instruments like the GEDI experience occasional glitches, resulting in data loss. Missions like the Ionospheric Connection Explorer (ICON) closely monitor the SAA, adjusting operations to minimize disruptions. Understanding the SAA's impact on space technology remains vital for ensuring the reliability and longevity of orbiting infrastructure. 'This Jet Will Shatter Laws of Physics and Privacy': X-59 Sparks Outrage as NASA Pushes Supersonic Silence into Civilian Skies Dynamic Evolution and Challenges The South Atlantic Anomaly is not static; recent data from ESA's Swarm constellation and NASA's SAMPEX mission reveal concerning trends. The anomaly is slowly drifting northwest, expanding in surface area, and beginning to split into two distinct lobes. This bifurcation creates additional hazardous zones for spacecraft, complicating predictive modeling of geomagnetic conditions. Scientists emphasize the importance of continuous monitoring and adaptation in satellite operations to mitigate potential disruptions. Understanding the evolving nature of the SAA is crucial for safeguarding current and future satellites. As the anomaly changes, it presents challenges that require innovative approaches to ensure the safety and functionality of space missions. The ongoing evolution of the SAA underscores the need for vigilance and adaptability in the face of dynamic geomagnetic phenomena. 'These Creatures Could Rewrite the Rules of Life': Deep-Sea Microbes on Earth Mirror What May Be Thriving Beneath Europa's Ice Anticipating the Invisible NASA leverages satellite data and core simulations to enhance its understanding of the SAA and refine predictive models. These models, such as the International Geomagnetic Reference Field (IGRF), track Earth's magnetic field evolution. They are essential for space mission planning and offer insights into Earth's internal structure. Although the current SAA is unprecedented in the space era, geological records suggest that such anomalies are not uncommon over long timescales. Importantly, the SAA is not an indicator of an impending magnetic pole reversal, a rare event occurring over hundreds of thousands of years. Studying the SAA remains a vital research area, essential for protecting orbiting technologies and deepening our understanding of Earth's magnetic dynamics. As the SAA continues to evolve, it poses intriguing questions about the future of our planet's magnetic behavior. As the South Atlantic Anomaly evolves, scientists and space agencies remain vigilant in their efforts to understand and mitigate its impact. The anomaly's potential to disrupt satellite operations and influence our understanding of Earth's magnetic field raises intriguing questions about the future of planetary dynamics. How will these changes shape our technological and scientific endeavors in the coming years? This article is based on verified sources and supported by editorial technologies. Did you like it? 4.4/5 (22)
The Independent
2 days ago
- Science
- The Independent
First Australian-made rocket comes crashing down minutes into launch
The first Australian -made rocket to attempt to reach orbit from the country crashed just seconds into its flight on Wednesday (30 July). Eris, launched by Gilmour Space Technologies, was designed to carry small satellites to orbit. The test flight was carried out from a spaceport near Bowen in the north of Queensland. Footage showed the 23-metre (75ft) rocket appeared to clear the launch tower and hover in the air before crashing No injuries were reported. Gilmour Space Technologies said: "For a maiden test flight, this is a strong result and a major step forward for Australia's sovereign space capability."
Forbes
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Forbes
Artist Xin Liu Gives Voice To Aging Satellites In Orbit
Xin Liu, NOAA: A Fall Towards Home, 2025. Commissioned by Hyundai Artlab Photo Xin Liu Navigating art, science and technology, Xin Liu explores themes of memory, intimacy and the human condition in an age of machines and outer space. With a background in mechanical engineering, interaction design and media arts, her practice often involves poetic experiments that span disciplines, from wearable devices and performances to biotechnology and cosmic probes. Her latest digital artwork, 'NOAA: A Fall Towards Home', commissioned by South Korea's Hyundai Artlab, invites online viewers on a clickable journey from the point of view of three anthropomorphized satellites – NOAA-15, 18 and 19 – each imbued with their own histories, technical quirks and emotional temperaments. Influenced by the final transmissions of real decommissioned NOAA weather satellites, Liu crafted stories shaped by their actual history, flight paths and malfunctions, as they watch 'home' from afar. The first to launch and to fade, 'NOAA-15: The Quiet Elder' drifts through space like a contemplative stargazer, its aging sensors tinted with wonder as it lovingly observes earth from afar, content simply to bear witness. 'NOAA-18: The Devoted Idealist' orbits with purpose and hope, tirelessly chronicling the planet's rhythms as if each data point could prove its worth and preserve a legacy born from loss. 'NOAA-19: The Loving Custodian' is the satellite that fell and rose again, transforming fragility into devotion as it tenderly double-checks its siblings' work, watching over earth with quiet care. With this new creation, Liu turns our gaze back to earth, exploring the existential solitude and quiet observation of these aging machines as metaphors for diasporic longing, technological obsolescence and the search for connection and purpose. In this conversation, she reflects on her origins and becoming an artist. You were born in 1991 in Karamay, Xinjiang. Tell me about your background and how you became interested in art. I grew up in Karamay, Xinjiang, which is a small, remote city in northwestern China. My parents are both surgeons. When I was a kid, I really loved math, physics, chemistry. No one I knew was remotely working in the creative industry; everyone was a doctor or working on the oil fields or for the government. I never thought of the possibility of becoming an artist until very much later in life. I think it's common for children who did not grow up in big cities like Shanghai and Beijing to think that art is a luxury. I only had access to art when I went to college, and for the first time entered an art museum of any sort. I decided to study art after my undergrad. During college, I took a second degree in digital art, mostly because I was interested in gaming. And that was also when social media started to appear in China. I wanted to understand this new industry and the way self-expression was enabled through the Internet. After a couple of years learning game design and interaction design, I just got really hooked with all the possibilities in the arts and ended up applying for grad school. Xin Liu, NOAA-18: The Devoted Idealist, 2025. Commissioned by Hyundai Artlab Photo Xin Liu Studio What did you learn from your time at Rhode Island School of Design and MIT? Why did you decide to study both art and engineering, why do you view yourself not only as an artist but also as an engineer, and what role do research and experimentation play in your artworks? At Rhode Island School of Design (RISD), I had to start from scratch. I had to 100 % learn art history myself because all of my classmates and professors were way ahead of me. I spent most of my first year in the library just reading books on art history and modern and contemporary art. I remember I had this 'wow' moment with Duchamp's work. After RISD, I ended up going back to the tech field because I never saw myself going to grad school to become a professional artist; it was rather a desire to have a comprehensive education for myself. I think it's a pity nowadays that we have all these disciplines that are polishing one's knowledge and ability, but diminishing the potential of individuals to understand the world through various aspects, including technology, art, philosophy, science and even fiction. Education is the soil for my mind, for the construction of my world. I've never felt like there was a distinct separation between art and engineering. They are asking the same questions about what it means to be human in the 21st century. And how do we reconcile all the varieties of practices that take risks, make guesses, act on the edge, iterate and, ultimately, take a leap of faith to create an experiment to propose a theory and to create a piece of art? Describe to me your artistic language and philosophy. What is the most important consideration when you first start creating an artwork? Do you know exactly how it will look like when you start, or are you surprised by the end result? When I first start creating artwork, I often start with a moment that I want to achieve. I think film might be a big influence for me, as storytelling and a moment in a story that we reach is something I seek in my art: a concentration of energy and time you can capture in a sculpture, painting or installation, and slowly you sense it going through you even after you have left the exhibition. That's really what I'm looking for. I don't really know how the work will end up visually or the format of the entire work until much later on, in most cases. However, the sensation that I talked about and the moment that I tried to create do stay truthful to themselves, from the beginning to the end. Why do you choose to live and work in London? I work on probably two or three projects actively at any given moment, and probably two or three group shows every month. I moved to London because my partner's new job relocated us, but I'm also very excited to live in Europe for the first time. I grew up in China and I've studied and worked in the US for almost a decade. Europe is a new, exciting change, and I've been learning a lot already. Xin Liu and her partner Gershon Dublon capturing satellite images in Riis Beach, New York Photo Xin Liu Studio Tell me about your work with decommissioned NOAA weather satellites. This work actually started in 2020 in the midst of the pandemic. Living in New York City, I climbed to the rooftop of my Brooklyn apartment. I used a self-made antenna out of broomsticks to receive data from remote satellites. For me, in many ways, technology and innovation are like the satellites that orbit earth really far away, but that are continuously watching and taking care of us and providing access and connectivity. When I talked with the team at BMW about the IPA system and the iDrive system, I learned that the intelligence and technology are really about companionship. I immediately thought about what I did during the pandemic with the satellites because that was my only activity and entertainment during the lockdown, when I climbed to the roof and tried to connect to remote things, which were satellites that had been decommissioned for already 20 years, but that kept orbiting the earth to bring data back. Barely anyone could hear them except for amateur artists like myself. I thought how I could push further on that and how perhaps my attempt to connect could bring some emotions to them or allow for creativity. That's why I imagined a wild dance for them and the video is actually a live simulation that I wrote for the algorithm. The little squares represent vehicles that are being pushed and pulled by the planets that are represented by circles. They give these trajectories that I imagined, where they're hopefully having their own dance while watching us. What were the biggest challenges in the process of making 'NOAA', a commission by BMW first presented in Shanghai, where you were asked to propose a view on the future of AI and automobiles? There is a sound piece in the background and there's noise that is actually data from satellites in space. In the meantime, I think people see technology as providing really exciting opportunities for the future, but also as something a bit intimidating if they don't have the background or knowledge themselves. So for this piece, I tried to make an emotional connection and help people to go to a place that is a little bit farther away from this really exciting metropolitan city. The way I hope that I've managed to do that was to invite my husband to whistle a song that I really like and that's going around in this space.
Yahoo
7 days ago
- Science
- Yahoo
NASA Is Watching a Huge Anomaly Growing in Earth's Magnetic Field
For years, NASA has monitored a strange anomaly in Earth's magnetic field: a giant region of lower magnetic intensity in the skies above the planet, stretching out between South America and southwest Africa. This vast, developing phenomenon, called the South Atlantic Anomaly, has intrigued and concerned scientists for years, and perhaps none more so than NASA researchers. The space agency's satellites and spacecraft are particularly vulnerable to the weakened magnetic field strength within the anomaly, and the resulting exposure to charged particles from the Sun. The South Atlantic Anomaly (SAA) – likened by NASA to a 'dent' in Earth's magnetic field, or a kind of 'pothole in space' – generally doesn't affect life on Earth, but the same can't be said for orbital spacecraft (including the International Space Station), which pass directly through the anomaly as they loop around the planet at low-Earth orbit altitudes. During these encounters, the reduced magnetic field strength inside the anomaly means technological systems onboard satellites can short-circuit and malfunction if they become struck by high-energy protons emanating from the Sun. Related: These random hits may usually only produce low-level glitches, but they do carry the risk of causing significant data loss, or even permanent damage to key components – threats obliging satellite operators to routinely shut down spacecraft systems before spacecraft enter the anomaly zone. Mitigating those hazards in space is one reason NASA is tracking the SAA; another is that the mystery of the anomaly represents a great opportunity to investigate a complex and difficult-to-understand phenomenon, and NASA's broad resources and research groups are uniquely well-appointed to study the occurrence. "The magnetic field is actually a superposition of fields from many current sources," geophysicist Terry Sabaka from NASA's Goddard Space Flight Centre in Greenbelt, Maryland explained in 2020. The primary source is considered to be a swirling ocean of molten iron inside Earth's outer core, thousands of kilometers below the ground. The movement of that mass generates electrical currents that create Earth's magnetic field, but not necessarily uniformly, it seems. A huge reservoir of dense rock called the African Large Low Shear Velocity Province, located about 2,900 kilometers (1,800 miles) below the African continent, is thought to disturb the field's generation, resulting in the dramatic weakening effect – which is aided by the tilt of the planet's magnetic axis. "The observed SAA can be also interpreted as a consequence of weakening dominance of the dipole field in the region," said NASA Goddard geophysicist and mathematician Weijia Kuang in 2020. "More specifically, a localized field with reversed polarity grows strongly in the SAA region, thus making the field intensity very weak, weaker than that of the surrounding regions." Satellite data suggesting the SAA is dividing. (Division of Geomagnetism, DTU Space) While there's much scientists still don't fully understand about the anomaly and its implications, new insights are continually shedding light on this strange phenomenon. For example, one study led by NASA heliophysicist Ashley Greeley in 2016 revealed the SAA slowly drifts around, which was confirmed by subsequent tracking from CubeSats in research published in 2021. It's not just moving, however. Even more remarkably, the phenomenon seems to be in the process of splitting in two, with researchers in 2020 discovering that the SAA appeared to be dividing into two distinct cells, each representing a separate center of minimum magnetic intensity within the greater anomaly. Just what that means for the future of the SAA remains unknown, but in any case, there's evidence to suggest that the anomaly is not a new appearance. A study published in July 2020 suggested the phenomenon is not a freak event of recent times, but a recurrent magnetic event that may have affected Earth since as far back as 11 million years ago. If so, that could signal that the South Atlantic Anomaly is not a trigger or precursor to the entire planet's magnetic field flipping, which is something that actually happens, if not for hundreds of thousands of years at a time. A more recent study published in 2024 found the SAA also has an impact on auroras seen on Earth. Obviously, huge questions remain, but with so much going on with this vast magnetic oddity, it's good to know the world's most powerful space agency is watching it as closely as they are. "Even though the SAA is slow-moving, it is going through some change in morphology, so it's also important that we keep observing it by having continued missions," said Sabaka. "Because that's what helps us make models and predictions." An earlier version of this article was published in August 2020. Related News Jaw-Dropping Image Reveals Dying Stars Entangled Like Serpents This Could Be The First Witnessed Birth of a Supermassive Black Hole Surprise Cosmic Clouds Likened to Finding Ice Cubes in a Volcano Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
24-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Satellite tracker Spaceflux reaches lift-off with £5m funding boost
A British space surveillance company which has won a string of government contracts will this week announce a £5.4m fundraising to expand its global network of advanced telescopes. Sky News understands that Spaceflux, which was founded three years ago, has secured the injection of capital in a round led by the UK Innovation & Science Seed Fund (UKI2S), which is managed by Future Planet Capital, as well as Foresight Group and Blackfinch Ventures. Seraphim Space, the listed specialist investor in space-related companies, is also contributing funding. Money blog: Renowned chef thinks luxury item should be wiped off menus Spaceflux uses artificial intelligence and optical sensors to track satellites and debris across all orbits, with its daylight tracking capability meaning it can expand the observation window beyond night-time operations. Its provision of space situational awareness technologies is in growing demand amid warnings that a week-long disruption to satellite navigation could incur a £7.6bn hit to the UK economy. In a statement to Sky News, Marco Rocchetto, CEO and co-founder of Spaceflux, said: "As space becomes increasingly essential to our economy, environment and daily lives, it is also becoming more congested and contested. "This investment strengthens our ability to protect satellite technology that delivers crucial insights to Earth around the clock, reducing collision risks, and supporting a safer, more sustainable space environment for future generations". The valuation at which the funding was being committed was unclear on Thursday. Spaceflux, which serves government and commercial customers, has been the exclusive provider of geostationary satellite tracking for the Ministry of Defence and UK Space Agency since 2023. Read more on Sky News: Alex Leigh, an investment director at UKI2S, said: "This investment marks a significant step in the convergence of defence and space, where dual-use technologies are becoming increasingly important to UK capability. "Spaceflux's technology offers critical insights to help monitor and safeguard orbital assets - supporting both national security and the wider commercial ecosystem. "The company is well-positioned to scale its impact and meet the needs of customers navigating an increasingly complex space environment."
