Earth’s Magnetic Song recorded for the first time

Scientists recorded Earth’s magnetic song for the first time during a solar storm.

Data from ESA’s Cluster mission has provided a recording of the eerie ‘song’ that Earth sings when it is hit by a solar storm. The new findings were published today in the AGU journal Geophysical Research Letters.

Above, a computer simulation being developed at the University of Helsinki, during solar storm. Earth is the tiny white dot at the left, within the dark blue half circle. The large arc around Earth represents our planet’s magnetic bow shock. Credit University of Helsinki/AGU.

The song comes from waves that are generated in the Earth’s magnetic field by the collision of the storm. The storm itself is the eruption of electrically charged particles from the Sun’s atmosphere.

“Our study reveals that solar storms profoundly modify the foreshock region,” said Turc, who is the lead author of the new study.

source AGU