NASA’s Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) Spacecraft ... to study Earth’s Magnetic Reconnection Events

universetoday.com ^ | Ken Kremer

[BenLurkin]

“Magnetic reconnection is one of the most important drivers of space weather events,” said Jeff Newmark, interim director of the Heliophysics Division at NASA Headquarters in Washington.

“Eruptive solar flares, coronal mass ejections, and geomagnetic storms all involve the release, through reconnection, of energy stored in magnetic fields. Space weather events can affect modern technological systems such as communications networks, GPS navigation, and electrical power grids.”

The four MMS have been stacked on top of one another like pancakes, encapsulated in the payload fairing, transported to the launch pad, hoisted and mated to the top of the 195-foot-tall rocket.

[fella]

This will make the people over at Suspicious Observers happy, they do a daily report on the connection between the Suns' and Earths' weather. Here's this morning's report.

[FreedomStar3028]

Kinda like angry birds.

But kooky birds.

*wink*

[familyop]

Spaceweather.com
by Dr. Tony Phillips
Excerpt:
"...some of the highest radiation levels recorded in the 2-year history of the program. This could be a result of the current spate of low solar activity. Cosmic rays are repelled by CMEs and strong solar magnetic fields. When the sun is quiet, cosmic rays penetrate the solar system in greater numbers"

Familyop: we've been in an obvious extended solar minimum for some time.

Cosmic ray
Wikipedia
Excerpt:
"Cosmic rays attract great interest practically, due to the damage they inflict on microelectronics and life outside the protection of an atmosphere and magnetic field, and scientifically, because the energies of the most energetic ultra-high-energy cosmic rays (UHECRs) have been observed to approach 3 × 1020 eV,[5] about 40 million times the energy of particles accelerated by the Large Hadron Collider.[6]"

Familyop: the north magnetic pole has moved quite a bit and accelerated over the past twenty years (also, see NOAA's recent revisions of past datasets to show less acceleration). Recently, there were some more obviously weak areas in the field. Add that to the news about lack of protection because of the decrease in solar activity. Consider also that an increase in magnetic field movement follows an increase in outer core and mantle movement (increases in seismic activity and volcanism).

See what's behind the sponsored propaganda about man made global warming? Do you see?

[spokeshave]

Maybe they will find the magnetic field to magnetize Obama's moral compass....

....wait....it's already magnetized....and points to Mecca.

[spokeshave]

.some of the highest radiation levels recorded in the 2-year history of the program. This could be a result of the current spate of low solar activity

OMG....we all gonna die from COSMIC RAYS....and before the global ice age

[Explorer89]

The article didn’t actually explain what reconnection is. This is a good video about it:

http://www.nasa.gov/content/goddard/science-of-magnetic-reconnection/#.VPMMTdq9KSM

[SunkenCiv]

Thx.