Tag #spacefacts

This clip created with data from two telescopes at the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory shows a massive release of plasma from the sun’s surface in September 2017. This type of event, called a coronal mass ejection (or CME), often occurs on areas of the sun that contain magnetic activity like flares or sunspots. A CME releases a titanic amount of charged particles out into space. When these particles hit our planet, they warp Earth’s protective magnetic field. This event is... called a geomagnetic storm. Because of the potential danger these storms pose to infrastructure on Earth and in space, scientists try to predict CMEs by monitoring the sun’s surface using telescopes in space. Scientists also actively monitor planet Earth’s magnetic field to watch for instabilities that could indicate an ongoing storm. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in the U.S. issues forecasts to predict the risk of geomagnetic storms and categorizes their strength in five levels, just like hurricanes. #misciny #sciencemuseum #sciencefacts #scienceiscool #spacescience #spacefacts #spaceweather #geomagneticstorm #geostorm #sunspot #sunspots #magneticfield #magneticfields #solarstorm #solarflare #coronalmassejection #astronomyfacts #astronomynerd #astronomylovers #astronomyposts #nasa

Perhaps the most important place in communications right now is 22,000 miles above your head, about 1/10th the distance to the Moon. In order to stay in orbit, satellites need to travel fast enough to avoid falling back to earth but slow enough so they don’t leave Earth’s gravity completely. The speed that a satellite travels also changes the shape of its orbit, with satellites traveling faster in orbits that are closer to the Earth’s surface. At approximately 22,236 miles ...above the equator, a satellite in a circular orbit will travel at just the right speed to match the speed of Earth’s rotation. This means that an observer on the surface of Earth would always see the satellite in the same place in the sky. This is why we don’t need to adjust satellite TV dishes to follow their satellites, they orbit close enough to this height to have very little relative motion in relation to us here on Earth’s surface. There is limited space for satellites to safely occupy this geostationary orbit, leading to ongoing international disputes over who and what can use this limited resource. #misciny #sciencemuseum #sciencefacts #scienceiscool #satellite #satellites #orbit #orbits #geostationary #telecommunication #telecommunications #communications #communicationscience #spaceflight #spacefacts #spacescience

The most amazing meteor shower of the year is this weekend. This year is going to be really special due to lower air pollution levels and the fact that the light from a sliver of the moon will not disturb our observations. The night sky will be dancing from 13th to 15th December with its peak on 14th early morning at 2:00 am IST. Light pollution is the biggest killer of any night sky observations. Visit lightpollutionmap.info to find the best viewing site near you. You shoul...d aim for a place that's a class 2 or class 3 on the Bortle scale. Head out there for the best meteor shower experience. But please be safe by assessing the conditions of the site and the surroundings beforehand. Please note that the threat of the pandemic is still very real so avoid big groups and gatherings and adhere to local safety and curfew guidelines. Nights get very cold so please dress warm and take precautions and dress adequately. Carry water and snacks with you as well as some mosquito repellent to protect yourself. Carry a traditional torch with red light. In case you don't have a red light torch, carry a normal torch with some red gelatine paper and some rubber bands. Once you are there, look up in the sky and find the constellation Gemini. It's just above the club of Orion. To identify the constellation, you can use a sky tracking app on your phone in night mode. Sky view lite or sky map are great apps for this. The constellation will be at the zenith at around 2am. That's where the meteor shower well originate from. You don't need any special equipment to observe a meteor shower. Just patience. In a good spot you'll be able to see about 120 meteors in an hour. You can also submit your observations, photos, videos, etc. on www.imo.net which helps the organization to study various aspects of the meteors and Earth's orbit. Really great submissions get featured on their website with due credits given to you. Enjoy this heavenly show. Be safe. Take care. Do share your photos #meteor #meteorshower #astronomy #showinthesky #geminidmeteorshower #geminids #spacescienceforall #spacefacts #wednesdayinfopost #wednesdaywisdom #nightsky #nightphotography #night #nightout