Space weather related to human activities

Space weather related to human activities

Studying the history of the Cold War allows us to better understand the surrounding space system, namely, weather phenomena. Most often, the cosmic weather affecting the terrestrial magnetic environment is provoked by solar activity. But recently documents on nuclear tests and other mechanisms causing oscillations in the magnetic system were declassified. This will help NASA strengthen the protection of satellites and astronauts from radiation.

From 1958-1962 The United States and the USSR conducted various kinds of tests at a height for military purposes. Much time has passed, but now it is possible to trace how man is able to influence the cosmos. What is space weather and how it affects the planet and people?

We rotate near the active star, sending millions of high-energy particles in the form of the solar wind. It accumulates throughout the system, and then “attacks” the Earth and its protective field (magnetosphere). Most of them are repelled, but those that make their way can harm the satellites (destroy the on-board electronics, interfere with navigation, and break communication). Together with electromagnetic energy, they create auroras, and transformations in a magnetic field form currents that damage electrical networks. Similar effects were produced during explosions at an altitude of 16-250 miles during the Cold War. At detonation, the first blast wave removed the expanding plasma fireball. This formed a geomagnetic disturbance that distorts the magnetic lines of force of the planet, and induced an electric field on the surface.

Some tests have created artificial radiation belts, like Van Allen belts. It is a layer of charged particles held in a particular place by magnetic fields. Thus, they remained in a group for weeks, and sometimes years. They could influence the electronics of the satellites. Although physically similar to the natural radiation earth belts, the particles had different energies.

Other tests copied phenomena that we can find in space. On August 1, 1958, they conducted a test of Tick, who created an artificial radiance. For the place chosen Johnson Island in the Pacific Ocean. On the same day, an unusual glow was observed at the Apia Observatory, located only at the poles. Most likely, the particles released by the experiment followed the magnetic field lines to the Polynesian people, creating the aurora borealis. In the same year, the Argus test was performed, and effects were noted around the world. We chose a higher distance from the surface, allowing the particles to spread further around the planet. As a result, sudden geomagnetic storms were observed in Sweden and Arizona. The researchers used this data to track how fast the particles moved. They managed to identify two high-frequency waves. The speed of the first - 1860 miles per second, and the second - a quarter less. But these features lasted only a few seconds.

Nuclear tests in the atmosphere have not been carried out for a long time, but a study of these historical events makes it possible to understand how space weather affects infrastructure and technology. It is also a valuable contribution to heliophysics that studies the causes of space weather.

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