>>21083964

TYB

Jupiter’s upper atmosphere surprises astronomers

25/06/2024

Using the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope, scientists observed the region above Jupiter’s iconic Great Red Spot to discover a variety of previously unseen features.

The region, previously believed to be unremarkable in nature, hosts a variety of intricate structures and activity. Jupiter is one of the brightest objects in the night sky, and it is easily seen on a clear night.

Aside from the bright northern and southern lights at the planet’s polar regions, the glow from Jupiter’s upper atmosphere is weak and is therefore challenging for ground-based telescopes to discern details in this region.

However, Webb’s infrared sensitivity allows scientists to study Jupiter’s upper atmosphere above the infamous Great Red Spot with unprecedented detail.

The upper atmosphere of Jupiter is the interface between the planet’s magnetic field and the underlying atmosphere. Here, the bright and vibrant displays of northern and southern lights can be seen, which are fuelled by the volcanic material ejected from Jupiter’s moon Io.

However, closer to the equator, the structure of the planet’s upper atmosphere is influenced by incoming sunlight. Because Jupiter receives only 4% of the sunlight that is received on Earth, astronomers predicted this region to be homogeneous in nature.

The Great Red Spot of Jupiter was observed by Webb’s Near-InfraRed Spectrograph (NIRSpec) in July 2022, using the instrument’s Integral Field Unit capabilities.

The team’s Early Release Science observations sought to investigate if this region was in fact dull, and the region above the iconic Great Red Spot was targeted for Webb’s observations.

The team was surprised to discover that the upper atmosphere hosts a variety of intricate structures, including dark arcs and bright spots, across the entire field of view.

“We thought this region, perhaps naively, would be really boring,” shared team leader Henrik Melin of the University of Leicester in the United Kingdom. “It is in fact just as interesting as the northern lights, if not more so. Jupiter never ceases to surprise.”

Although the light emitted from this region is driven by sunlight, the team suggests there must be another mechanism altering the shape and structure of the upper atmosphere.

“One way in which you can change this structure is by gravity waves - similar to waves crashing on a beach, creating ripples in the sand,” explained Henrik.

“These waves are generated deep in the turbulent lower atmosphere, all around the Great Red Spot, and they can travel up in altitude, changing the structure and emissions of the upper atmosphere.”

The team explains that these atmospheric waves can be observed on Earth on occasion, however they are much weaker than those observed on Jupiter by Webb.

They also hope to conduct follow-up Webb observations of these intricate wave patterns in the future to investigate how the patterns move within the planet’s upper atmosphere and to develop our understanding of the energy budget of this region and how the features change over time.

These findings may also support ESA’s Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer, Juice, which was launched on 14 April 2023. Juice will make detailed observations of Jupiter and its three large ocean-bearing moons – Ganymede, Callisto and Europa – with a suite of remote sensing, geophysical and in situ instruments. The mission will characterise these moons as both planetary objects and possible habitats, explore Jupiter’s complex environment in depth, and study the wider Jupiter system as an archetype for gas giants across the Universe.

These observations were taken as part of the Early Release Science programme #1373: ERS Observations of the Jovian System as a Demonstration of JWST’s Capabilities for Solar System Science (Co-PIs: I. de Pater, T. Fouchet).

“This ERS proposal was written back in 2017,” shared team member Imke de Pater of the University of California, Berkeley.

“One of our objectives had been to investigate why the temperature above the Great Red Spot appeared to be high, as at the time recent observations with the NASA Infrared Telescope Facility had revealed. However, our new data showed very different results.”

https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Space_Science/Webb/Jupiter_s_upper_atmosphere_surprises_astronomers

It's back! Aurora-sparking sunspot returns for rare 3rd trip across the sun, firing off explosive solar flare

June 25, 2024

The historic sunspot region that sparked the record-breaking auroras of May 2024 has returned in explosive fashion, firing off a colossal M9.3 class solar flare on June 23.

But this isn't the first time we have encountered this hyperactive sunspot.

AR3723 is the returning version of sunspot AR3697 and before that AR3664 — which was responsible for the colossal G5 geomagnetic storm that triggered epic auroras around the world.

The sun's rotation period averages 27 days, which means Earth can view a given active region for around two weeks before it rotates over the sun's western edge.

Newly emerging active regions rotating onto the sun's eastern edge are given a new active region number due to the historical inability to track an active region around the back of the sun.

The sunspot region is making a rare third trip across the Earthside of the sun, but what can we expect from this hyperactive region?

Though the sunspot region is only a fraction of its former size, its magnetic makeup continues to produce powerful solar flares.

A few days ago on June 23, it unleashed a powerful M9.3-class solar flare, peaking at 9:01 a.m. EDT (1301 GMT).

The eruption was just points away from being classified as an X-flare, the most powerful class of solar flare.

"SO NEAR AND YET SO FAR! A new sunspot region on the SE limb just produced an M9.7 flare (just 3% short of an X flare)." Solar physicist Keith Strong wrote in a post on X.

The solar flare triggered moderate shortwave radio blackouts across Western Europe and Africa.

Such radio blackouts are common after powerful solar flare eruptions due to the strong pulses of X-rays and extreme ultraviolet radiation emitted during these events.

The radiation travels toward Earth at the speed of light and ionizes (gives an electrical charge to) the top of Earth's atmosphere when it reaches us.

This ionization creates a higher-traffic environment for high-frequency shortwave radio signals to navigate through in order to support communication over long distances.

Radio waves that interact with electrons in the ionized layers lose energy due to more frequent collisions, and this can lead to radio signals becoming degraded or completely absorbed.

The historic sunspot region appears to be a creature of habit, once again announcing its presence with a powerful solar flare.

When the region previously rotated into view as AR3697, it unleashed an X-class solar flare, triggering radio blackouts across Western Europe and the Eastern United States.

Scientists will be keeping a watchful eye on this region as it produced 28 M-class flares and 6 X-class flares during its last rotation as AR3697.

Aurora chasers will be hoping for some strong solar activity in the coming days as the sunspot region turns to face Earth.

https://www.space.com/sunspot-region-responsible-may-solar-storm-auroras-returns-for-third-time-solar-flare

>>21084223

>>21084232

U.S. Space Command ready for potential Russian satellite attack, general says

June 24, 2024

U.S. Space Command is preparing for the possibility of Russia targeting American satellites in orbit, according to the command’s top general.

Gen. Stephen Whiting, head of U.S. Space Command, commented on recent reports indicating that Russia has deployed “co-planar” spacecraft positioned to monitor U.S. satellites.

Speaking June 24 at the Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies, Whiting said Russia’s launch of its Cosmos 2576 satellite in low Earth orbit on May 16 — which the Pentagon assessed to be a counter-space weapon — was “put on orbit in an operational capacity.”

“And when you look at where they put the satellite, in what we call co-planar to a national security satellite, that doesn’t seem to be accidental,” said Whiting.

Co-planar deployment refers to the positioning of satellites on the same geometric plane in space. When Russia deploys “co-planar” spacecraft, it means they are placing their satellite in an orbit that is aligned with the orbit of a U.S. satellite.

This alignment allows the Russian spacecraft to monitor, track, and potentially interfere with a U.S. satellite because they are moving along the same path or plane in space.

Whiting noted that this deployment came as no surprise. “We’ve been tracking objects on orbit for decades,” he said.

“We can look at those orbital parameters and we can compare that launch to launches that the Russians did in 2017, 2019 and 2022 that look like this class of counter-space weapon that they’ve tested previously, and that now appears that they’ve put on orbit in an operational capacity.”

U.S. Space Command is taking these activities seriously and actively rehearsing a response to potential attacks on U.S. space assets, Whiting said.

An attack on satellites could have far-reaching consequences, potentially disrupting critical services such as GPS navigation, weather forecasting, and military communications. The Department of Defense has in recent years emphasized the importance of space assets for national security.

The general’s comments come amid rising tensions between the U.S. and Russia in the space domain. Intelligence reports have warned about Russia allegedly working on a nuclear anti-satellite weapon that is in development but has not been deployed.

Whiting did not comment on these reports. Other U.S. officials have warned that a nuclear explosive device, if detonated, could produce a massive wave of radiation and a powerful electromagnetic pulse capable of destroying, blinding, or disabling satellites over a wide area.

Readiness ‘our number one priority’

“Our number one priority at U.S. Space Command is to prepare and posture to maximize combat readiness by 2027,” Whiting said. “

So we are executing tests and operations and exercises with our service components to improve our tactics, techniques and procedures.”

Whiting emphasized that Space Command is working closely with allies to develop strategies to mitigate the effects of any potential attack.

“We’re strengthening our partnerships through initiatives like Operation Olympic Defender, which allows us to share intelligence and plan joint defensive measures,” he said.

Operation Olympic Defender is a U.S.-led multinational initiative aimed at strengthening defense and deterring hostile actions in space.

Current members include Australia, Canada and the United Kingdom.

Whiting said France, Germany and New Zealand have been invited to join. “We hope to have a positive response from them in the next few months.”

https://spacenews.com/u-s-space-command-ready-for-potential-russian-satellite-attack-general-says/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WtcXQI1GLl0

Mysterious Monolith Appears in Northern Colorado

June 24, 2024

Back in 2020, odd mirrored monoliths started to appear around the globe. No one could explain them, no one knew where they came from, and no one knew what they were from.

According to ABC News, the last reported monolith appeared on December 2, 2020, in California in San Luis Obispo County. Fast forward to 2024 and they started to appear again.

The first monolith of 2024 appeared on March 12 in Wales, United Kingdom. The second appearance of a monolith happened last week on Monday, June 17, in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Another monolith appears to have shown up in our neck of the woods. Photos have been posted to various Facebook groups in Northern Colorado and on Reddit.

The monolith appears to have a shiny, mirror-like finish that easily reflects the sky and clouds.

Photos have been posted of the Northern Colorado monolith that has appeared in Bellvue off of Larimer County Roads 54e and 25e by Noosa Yoghurt.

Currently, we have no information other than the photos that have been shared on social media regarding the mysterious monolith. Here are some photos that have been taken of the strange object.

Strange, isn't it? What do you think it means? Could a resident be signaling intelligence from space or is it just a prank to get everyone in Fort Collins talking about it? Either way, we want to know.

https://k99.com/mysterious-monolith-appears-in-northern-colorado/

https://www.reddit.com/r/FortCollins/comments/1dlyrig/aliens_in_bellevue/

>>21084344

Mysterious 'ring-shaped UFO' seen hiding in the clouds above Venezuela in broad daylight that looks eerily similar to Jordan Peele horror movie monster

UPDATED: 10:51 EDT, 25 June 2024

A bizarre, ring-shape UFO that appeared in the skies above Venezuela was recorded by a pair of stunned friends.

The now-viral video shows the dark, circular spot hovering in the clouds over Valencia, a city in the northern Venezuelan state of Carabobo.

'A flying saucer,' one of the young men shouts as they drove down a rode on a sunny afternoon.

He then asks one of his pals for the time on the clock to document the recording.

'Bro, look here: 4:54 pm on the 17th of June in 2024,' he says. 'Look at what is here in the sky in Valencia, Carabobo.'

The excited man then asks one of his friends to share the video with another person.

Although Venezuelan authorities have not made any public statements, local meteorologist Luis Vargas rained on their parade with several theories that ruled out a possible UFO sighting.

'This could be a smoke vortex or black ring that occurs after an explosion through a circular structure such as an industrial chimney or something similar,' he wrote on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.

He also indicated that the circular shape may have been produced by a volcano.

'They are also more common in volcanic activities as can be seen … and are known as ring clouds,' Vargas said.

One user on X linked the odd-looking shape to military exercises that had taken place at a camp ahead of Monday's commemoration of the Battle of Carabobo, the 1821 fight for independence between fighters led by Venezuela General Simón Bolivar and the Spanish.

The victory at Carabobo led to the independence of Venezuelan and the creation of the Republic of Gran Colombia.

Another social media user linked the ring-shaped clouds to smoke from a cigar.

'It was me who was smoking a cigar, and I started making figures with the smoke,' José Pérez said.

'But yes, his explanation is the most coherent and valid. I don't think UFOs will arrive in Valencia, because we never have electricity, water and there are always lines for gasoline.'

Another joked that the UFO arrived ahead of next month's presidential election to remove President Nicolás Maduro and his regime.

'It is a UFO hired to search for those who leave on July 28,' Alba Ferrero said.

Wilmer Palacios joked: 'Those from Valencia are the chose ones.'

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13567461/mystery-ufo-venezuela-ring-formation-clouds-broad-daylight.html

>>21084381

First day out