April 23rd Magnetosphere Anomaly

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around an anomaly observed in the magnetosphere on April 23, 2016, with participants exploring potential explanations such as instrument failure or pole reversal. The conversation includes considerations of solar wind effects, cosmic rays, and historical occurrences of similar phenomena.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Technical explanation
  • Debate/contested

Main Points Raised

  • One participant questions whether the anomaly could be due to instrument failure or a pole reversal.
  • Another participant suggests that a solar wind stream from a coronal hole may have influenced the Earth's magnetic field, potentially causing a brief cancellation.
  • There is curiosity about whether similar anomalies have occurred in the past and what their outcomes might be.
  • A participant expresses a belief that such events likely happen frequently without significant consequences, possibly affecting auroral activity or cosmic ray penetration.
  • Links to external sources about cosmic rays are shared, indicating interest in further exploration of the topic.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express curiosity and propose various hypotheses, but there is no consensus on the cause of the anomaly or its implications. Multiple competing views remain regarding the nature and frequency of similar occurrences.

Contextual Notes

Participants reference specific solar events and their potential effects on the magnetosphere, but there are unresolved assumptions about the mechanisms involved and the historical context of such anomalies.

IbogaMoon
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Astronomy news on Phys.org
At that time the solar wind was having an effect on Earth due to a stream flowing from a coronal hole on the sun. The interplanetary magnetic field was supposedly pointing north at the time. But perhaps the solar particles briefly turned the field south, causing a brief cancellation of Earth's magnetic field? Curiously, the moon was full and at apogee at vaguely the same time.From the April 22 edition of spaceweather.com:

A gaseous canyon in the sun's atmosphere has turned toward Earth, and it is spewing solar wind in our direction. NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory is monitoring the structure, shown here in an extreme ultraviolet image taken on April 22nd:
ch_strip2.png
 
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Thanks for your answer, I am curious has this happened before? What are some potential outcomes?
 
IbogaMoon said:
Thanks for your answer, I am curious has this happened before? What are some potential outcomes?
I'm no expert. But I'm sure this or something quite similar has happened very often, with no particularly alarming outcomes or consequences I'm aware of. Probably auroral activity or penetration of cosmic rays to Earth's surface is briefly affected.
 

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