This paper, my first paper, has perhaps had a lasting impact on my research. Latitudinal and Seasonal Variations of Quasiperiodic and Periodic VLF Emissions in the Outer Magnetosphere. Within this project I was able to determine that there were many different types of events and making sure to quantify them in a systematic manner impacts how you interpret the results. This is a lesson that has stuck with me ever since.
I was very fortunate to be able to be involved with research as an undergrad. At the time, it was quite rare and I owe a lot to both my undergraduate advisor Mark Engetson, and to the entire lab there at Augsburg University. They set me up to be able to hit the ground running when I got to my Masters and PhD, and have continued to be a source of support.
This paper, my first paper, has perhaps had a lasting impact on my research. Latitudinal and Seasonal Variations of Quasiperiodic and Periodic VLF Emissions in the Outer Magnetosphere. Within this project I was able to determine that there were many different types of events and making sure to quantify them in a systematic manner impacts how you interpret the results. This is a lesson that has stuck with me ever since.
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It's been awhile. Over the last few years I was working at The Aerospace Corporation. I had a 3 - 4 hour daily commute and that kinda put a stop to blog writing. I am now back at NASA Goddard and need to get back into writing papers like there is no tomorrow. Okay that's a bit of an exaggeration, but I do need to write more. However, I seem to have slipped back into bad habits, scrutinizing over every little detail instead of just getting words on a page, wondering how reviewers will interpret the results and will they agree or not... in other words, I've gotten a bit stuck in my own head.
So, how am I going to get out of this rut? Well, I'm going to try a few things that have helped in the past:
In the coming weeks I hope to have little posts about the papers that came out before I started this blog and while I was at Aerospace (or didn't get to writing up before I moved there). I'd love to hear what helps you when faced with writer's block. I am not a natural writer and unfortunately it is a key component of being a scientist. Massive sunspots and huge solar flares mean unexpected space weather for EarthAlexa Halford, Dartmouth College; Brett Carter, RMIT University, and Julie Currie, RMIT UniversityIf you still have your solar viewing glasses from the eclipse, now is a good time to slap them on and look up at the sun. You’ll see two big dark areas visible on our star. These massive sunspots are regions of intense and complicated magnetic fields that can produce solar flares – bursts of high-energy radiation. You can just make them out with solar viewing glasses, but they’re better viewed through a solar telescope.
These two huge sunspots are currently causing quite a bit of consternation and interest. The solar storms they’ve sent toward Earth may affect communications and other technologies like GPS and radio signals. They’re causing amazing displays of the Northern and Southern Lights. And space weather scientists like us are excited because we wouldn’t normally expect this much activity from the sun at the moment. The sun goes through 11-year cycles of solar activity. What scientists call a solar maximum is the time in the cycle when the sun is putting out the most energy. That’s when we tend to see the most sunspots, solar flares and associated solar storms. Some solar maxima are larger or more active than others – such as the 1990-1991 solar max. But this last cycle, which peaked in 2014, was quite small, and there were few large geomagnetic storms. We’re heading into the bottom of solar minimum, when the sun tends to have fewer sunspots, solar flares and coronal mass ejections – large expulsions of plasma, electrons and ions, and magnetic fields. But despite where we are in the sun’s cycle, activity on the sun has dramatically picked up over the past few days. On and off, these two sunspots have been flaring and shooting out coronal mass ejections, directed toward Earth. So what’s going on with the sun? And should we be concerned about this somewhat out-of-character solar behavior? Here’s what’s happened so farOn September 4, the sun started sputtering. A moderately large flare (classified as an M5.5) erupted at approximately 18:30 UTC. It produced a coronal mass ejection aimed at Earth. The sun continued to flare on September 5. A solar energetic particle event from the previous day’s activity arrived at the Earth, where it likely affected radio communications as well as the health of satellite systems. On September 6, the sun produced two massive X-class flares. This is the category for the strongest of all solar flares.
NASA announced one was the most powerful since at least 2008. It produced another coronal mass ejection. Over the next day, the same sunspots continued to spit out more solar flares. It took about an hour for the solar energetic particles they emitted to arrive at Earth. These protons are incredibly fast-moving. They can affect communication systems, typically in the polar regions where they are more likely to enter into the Earth’s atmosphere. As with all increases of radiation in space, they can also affect satellite systems and the health of astronauts. Early in the morning hours of September 7 in the U.S., that first coronal mass ejection that erupted from the sun three days earlier arrived at Earth. Because of the way its magnetic field aligned with Earth’s, it generated only a small geomagnetic storm. After being detected by spacecraft upstream from Earth in the solar wind, the massive coronal mass ejection from September 6 also hit Earth on the evening of September 7 EDT. Its arrival was a few hours earlier than space weather forecasting agencies around the world predicted. What other effects will Earth see?All this solar activity has already caused a couple of radiation storms in Earth’s high latitude regions that blacked out radio communication at certain frequencies. The impacts extended toward the equator and have affected high-frequency communications, including ham radios, which are used in emergency and disaster relief management. Radio fade-out maps from the Australian Bureau of Meteorology show that high-frequency radio communication disruptions have likely occurred in the same areas being pummeled by Hurricane Irma. There has likely been a loss of global navigation system satellite communications in those same areas, but it will take time for the data to be analyzed and for us to gain a full understanding of how this space weather activity has affected those on the ground. The radiation storms may also force flights over the polar regions to reroute to avoid increased radiation exposures for people on board and potential loss of communication and navigation systems for aircraft on these paths. With the collision of the coronal mass ejection from this X-class flare with Earth come other impacts for the near-Earth space environment. Geomagnetic storms, like the one currently in progress, are known to wreak havoc on a range of satellite and ground-based communication technologies, as well as power grids, GPS/GNSS, and orbit predictions of satellites and space debris. It is also very likely to produce dazzling aurora activity as far south as the northern U.S. and Europe in the Northern Hemisphere, and as far north as southern Australia and New Zealand in the Southern Hemisphere. While scientists and aurora-hunting enthusiasts closely watch the storm’s ongoing effects, others will be bracing for problems and disruptions to the many technological services that will be affected. We don’t need to worry about this coronal mass ejection being “the big one” – a solar storm direct hit that could cause widespread power blackouts and trigger as much as US$2 trillion worth of damage, according to a National Academy of Sciences study. But this storm, on the back of this month’s abnormally active space weather, may wind up on the larger end of the scale, and will be the subject of lots of analysis and research. We don’t yet fully understand everything that is happening. But the activity over the past few days, when the sun should be within its quietest period, shows that significant space weather events are possible at any stage of the 11-year solar cycle. You can help us study this and other solar storms as a citizen scientist. Sign up for Aurorasaurus and let us know if you observe aurorae with this event. Alexa Halford, Researcher in Physics and Astronomy, Dartmouth College; Brett Carter, Senior Research Fellow, RMIT University, and Julie Currie, Research Officer, RMIT University This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article.
Here's my Facebook live interview with WUSA
This weekend is Earth day, a favorite holiday of mine. It wasn't one that I necessarily looked forward to, or even remembered existed throughout the rest of the year, but it was always a wonderful surprise when we would celebrate at school. We got free trees to plant, we got to play outside, and it really felt like a celebration of spring. This year Earth day is extra special. The march for science is taking place with marches planed all across the globe. The march itself has sparked a lot of discussions and a surprising (at least to me) amount of strong feelings; is it the right way for science to communicate, is it okay for scientists to protest, what happens if people all show up in white lab coats (what the 500 women scientist group plans to wear), that would be horrible, we can't have scientists identifying themselves as scientists... (Really?!?!?) So what does one scientist do? Well as always it is up to the individual. Marching, public speaking, public engagement in general is a very personal thing, and it's okay that perhaps not everyone is open to it. Personally I see the march as a way to show my support for the thing I love, science. In a utopia, I would have never ending funding for my science. I could put up as many satellites, balloons, rockets, ground instrumentation as my heart desired. I could go to conferences at the drop of a hat and hide away in coffee shops when some coding needed to get done. I would never again have to write a proposal or a paper. When my science provides new insights for how we live and how it affects our technology, I would be able to go to my representatives, or the president, and be heard and have my advice taken... but unfortunately I am not Elon Musk, nor Elon Musk rich. So I am dependent on science funding, and good science informing policy, and both are solidly in the realm of politics. In my 8th grade civics class it was ingrained that our most important job as an American citizen was to vote, and our second most important job was to be involved in politics that matter to us and affect our lives. Science is something that matters greatly to me and affects my, and really everyones life. So this matters, and thus I see it as my civic duty to stand up for science and march. What the SPA Advocacy committee decided to do was write a commentary. We hope that this commentary will encourage our colleagues to become involved. Marching this Earth day is a great place to start; hang out with like minded people, and add your voice to the crowd. But hopefully it will not be the end of your engagement. Getting involved can take an incredibly small amount of time and have a huge impact. There are lots of resources through AGU, AAAS, and other institutions about how to get involved and have a effective message. Often your academic institution, company, or professional community will have people to help you, all you have to do is ask. Of course there is the obvious steps of speaking with and/or writing your representative, both state and federal. But something that comes up time and time again is that we shouldn't just stop there. Make sure to talk with your local representatives, your mayor, your local school board, and your neighbors. We often state how science is a global endeavor, which it is. But science is also local. Scientists may not be as visible around town as the local businessmen and women, but we help provide jobs and support the community (sometimes to our own financial and professional stagnation) . Our findings inform policy like the Chesapeake Bay clean up efforts. New technology is developed as we find new materials and discoveries. Science helps tell us what the weather will be like this weekend. Science can be incredibly local, especially if you are looking for new species of bugs in your own backyard. So whether you march tomorrow or not, I hope you get involved and support those who do. |
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