May 2024 storm created a new Van Allen belt

[Manu]

 

 

 

Edited August 2 by Manu

[hamateur 1953]

Another non SWL friend sent me this directly in case I hadn’t heard about it!   Funny.  Because it shows as individuals how much effect we may have on others due to our own awareness of SpaceWeather.   These are very exciting times for all of us and a genuine opportunity for us as SWL fans to get those who might otherwise see us as wasting our time (!). To get them involved here too.  Very cool.  Mike. 

Btw I risked reinforcing his opinion of my as a crazy martian who talks to Mars on his radio. ( jk)  and sent him some stuff on particle storms. Mike 🐈‍⬛ 

[Gojira Prime]

Interesting stuff, so is it much weaker than the two existing larger belts or of similar intensity?

[Manu]

I don't know much about VA belts but apparently this is part of their dynamics and how they react to solar storms. 

This was first discovered in 2013. Here is from Wikipedia :

 

On February 28, 2013, a third radiation belt—consisting of high-energy ultrarelativistic charged particles—was reported to be discovered. In a news conference by NASA's Van Allen Probe team, it was stated that this third belt is a product of coronal mass ejection from the Sun. It has been represented as a separate creation which splits the Outer Belt, like a knife, on its outer side, and exists separately as a storage container of particles for a month's time, before merging once again with the Outer Belt.^[28]

The unusual stability of this third, transient belt has been explained as due to a 'trapping' by the Earth's magnetic field of ultrarelativistic particles as they are lost from the second, traditional outer belt. While the outer zone, which forms and disappears over a day, is highly variable due to interactions with the atmosphere, the ultrarelativistic particles of the third belt are thought not to scatter into the atmosphere, as they are too energetic to interact with atmospheric waves at low latitudes.^[29] This absence of scattering and the trapping allows them to persist for a long time, finally only being destroyed by an unusual event, such as the shock wave from the Sun.

 

7 minutes ago, Gojira Prime said:

Interesting stuff, so is it much weaker than the two existing larger belts or of similar intensity?

They talk about it here :  

 

 

Edited August 2 by Manu

[Gojira Prime]

21 minutes ago, Manu said:

I don't know much about VA belts but apparently this is part of their dynamics and how they react to solar storms. 

This was first discovered in 2013. Here is from Wikipedia :

 

On February 28, 2013, a third radiation belt—consisting of high-energy ultrarelativistic charged particles—was reported to be discovered. In a news conference by NASA's Van Allen Probe team, it was stated that this third belt is a product of coronal mass ejection from the Sun. It has been represented as a separate creation which splits the Outer Belt, like a knife, on its outer side, and exists separately as a storage container of particles for a month's time, before merging once again with the Outer Belt.^[28]

The unusual stability of this third, transient belt has been explained as due to a 'trapping' by the Earth's magnetic field of ultrarelativistic particles as they are lost from the second, traditional outer belt. While the outer zone, which forms and disappears over a day, is highly variable due to interactions with the atmosphere, the ultrarelativistic particles of the third belt are thought not to scatter into the atmosphere, as they are too energetic to interact with atmospheric waves at low latitudes.^[29] This absence of scattering and the trapping allows them to persist for a long time, finally only being destroyed by an unusual event, such as the shock wave from the Sun.

 

They talk about it here :  

 

 

Ahh I see, so it basically appears and is then dispersed by subsequent solar activity that's strong enough to blast it away. Fascinating stuff thanks 🙂

[hamateur 1953]

42 minutes ago, Manu said:

I don't know much about VA belts but apparently this is part of their dynamics and how they react to solar storms. 

This was first discovered in 2013. Here is from Wikipedia :

 

On February 28, 2013, a third radiation belt—consisting of high-energy ultrarelativistic charged particles—was reported to be discovered. In a news conference by NASA's Van Allen Probe team, it was stated that this third belt is a product of coronal mass ejection from the Sun. It has been represented as a separate creation which splits the Outer Belt, like a knife, on its outer side, and exists separately as a storage container of particles for a month's time, before merging once again with the Outer Belt.^[28]

The unusual stability of this third, transient belt has been explained as due to a 'trapping' by the Earth's magnetic field of ultrarelativistic particles as they are lost from the second, traditional outer belt. While the outer zone, which forms and disappears over a day, is highly variable due to interactions with the atmosphere, the ultrarelativistic particles of the third belt are thought not to scatter into the atmosphere, as they are too energetic to interact with atmospheric waves at low latitudes.^[29] This absence of scattering and the trapping allows them to persist for a long time, finally only being destroyed by an unusual event, such as the shock wave from the Sun.

 

They talk about it here :  

 

 

Very cool. Tnx @Manu  mike 

[Manu]

4 hours ago, hamateur 1953 said:

Another non SWL friend sent me this directly in case I hadn’t heard about it!   Funny.  Because it shows as individuals how much effect we may have on others due to our own awareness of SpaceWeather.   These are very exciting times for all of us and a genuine opportunity for us as SWL fans to get those who might otherwise see us as wasting our time (!). To get them involved here too.  Very cool.  Mike. 

Btw I risked reinforcing his opinion of my as a crazy martian who talks to Mars on his radio. ( jk)  and sent him some stuff on particle storms. Mike 🐈‍⬛ 

Yeah, I have been recently inspired to learn more about VA belts, but actually did not quite resonate with the more scientific literature that I found (although I have a science education). I mean the mechanisms & dynamics that create and sustain these belts seem to be quite complex.

Anyway, I also feel very enthusiastic and I think these belts are awesome and amazing, even though I don't know how they work. I sometimes feel more drawn towards wonderment than scientific knowledge. But after all, isn't love a form of knowledge?

Edit : ... or maybe the other way around : knowledge a form of love... anyway

Edited August 2 by Manu

[hamateur 1953]

I completely agree!! Passion for anything is love.    As long as we are here the wonder of space etc has fascinated me and still does.  Our own passions for science can insipire others too.  People have told me as much. And others have certainly inspired me.  Tamitha Skov in a big way for her passion in spaceweather research and her stamina to hold classes etc.  A great gal to have in our corner!  

22 minutes ago, Manu said:

Yeah, I have been recently inspired to learn more about VA belts, but actually did not quite resonate with the more scientific literature that I found (although I have a science education). I mean the mechanisms & dynamics that create and sustain these belts seem to be quite complex.

Anyway, I also feel very enthusiastic and I think these belts are awesome and amazing, even though I don't know how they work. I sometimes feel more drawn towards wonderment than scientific knowledge. But after all, isn't love a form of knowledge?

 

Edited August 2 by hamateur 1953
Afterthoughts

[Cokelley]

This is just a totally random thought but I wonder if that 3rd belt (although temporary) has something to do with the strong north Bz we are experiencing lately> Insulating us from some of these weaker storms. I know this is purely a random thought !

[Manu]

1 hour ago, Cokelley said:

This is just a totally random thought but I wonder if that 3rd belt (although temporary) has something to do with the strong north Bz we are experiencing lately> Insulating us from some of these weaker storms. I know this is purely a random thought !

I think the Bz you're talking about is measured at L1 point (which is at 1.5 millions km from Earth), whereas VA belts extend to 60 000 km only. I see Bz as an information about solar wind field / interplanetary field, rather than something influenced by Earth. Maybe I'm wrong.

Also, I don't know whether this is the VA belts which protect the atmosphere or rather the magnetic field from Earth itself

[Cokelley]

9 minutes ago, Manu said:

I think the Bz you're talking about is measured at L1 point (which is at 1.5 millions km from Earth), whereas VA belts extend to 60 000 km only. I see Bz as an information about solar wind field / interplanetary field, rather than something influenced by Earth. Maybe I'm wrong.

Also, I don't know whether this is the VA belts which protect the atmosphere or rather the magnetic field from Earth itself

That makes sense, yep I totally understand what you mean. I agree that it really isn't related now that you mention it

[Archmonoth]

5 hours ago, Gojira Prime said:

Ahh I see, so it basically appears and is then dispersed by subsequent solar activity that's strong enough to blast it away. Fascinating stuff thanks 🙂

To me it sounds like an Electron shell, with area/orbits created by including additional nearby energy. 

 

I agree, very fascinating! 

[Manu]

Something I did not know and I have just read :

- the inner belt is thought to be mainly made of energetic protons from cosmic rays collisions + particles from the Sun. The particles bounce back and forth between the poles, electrons drifting eastward and protons drifting westward. Particle lifetime = a few months.

- the outer belt is thought to be mainly made of high-energy electrons from solar storms, injected from the magnetosphere tail. Particle lifetime = 1 week to a few weeks.

- the usual gap between the inner belt and the outter belt (not the third belt) may be created by waves originated from lightning activity within the Earth atmosphere. Particle lifetime = a few days.

Awesome !

Edited August 3 by Manu
wording

[Manu]

12 hours ago, Archmonoth said:

To me it sounds like an Electron shell, with area/orbits created by including additional nearby energy. 

 

I agree, very fascinating! 

Interesting. I've just seen an article (very technical, I did not go far into), which suggests that particles populations within the belt should be more distinguished according to their energy levels. Indeed they do not react the same to wave-particles interactions. This could be part of the explanation of intermediate belts.

Also, another study from 2018 states that they have identified 30 three-belt events and found that about 18% of geomagnetic storms result in such configuration. Lifetimes vary from days to months, depending on the electron energy level of the intermediate belt.

[Archmonoth]

9 hours ago, Manu said:

Interesting. I've just seen an article (very technical, I did not go far into), which suggests that particles populations within the belt should be more distinguished according to their energy levels. Indeed they do not react the same to wave-particles interactions. This could be part of the explanation of intermediate belts.

Also, another study from 2018 states that they have identified 30 three-belt events and found that about 18% of geomagnetic storms result in such configuration. Lifetimes vary from days to months, depending on the electron energy level of the intermediate belt.

Very cool! 

Sounds like a dynamic place. 

21 hours ago, Manu said:

- the slot in between may be created by waves originated from lightning activity within the Earth atmosphere. Particle lifetime = a few days.

 

Was the increase in upper atmosphere lightning, and/or ground lightning? 

 

Either way, the plasma formations are intriguing. Do you have any links/studies about the lightning activity?

Edited August 3 by Archmonoth

[hamateur 1953]

Funny I was looking at the south Atlantic anomaly which you may or may not realise also includes a significant depression in ionispheric reflectivity and increased lightning activity in general per Tamitha Skov. I will post a link to Hf underground which I use for F2 layer muf calculations.    Mike. https://www.hfunderground.com/propagation/

Edited August 3 by hamateur 1953
Added link

[Manu]

1 hour ago, Archmonoth said:

Was the increase in upper atmosphere lightning, and/or ground lightning? 

 

Either way, the plasma formations are intriguing. Do you have any links/studies about the lightning activity?

I think it is from what they call whistler waves, which are VLF waves "produced by lightning strikes (mostly intracloud and return-path)". "return path" I don't know what this is...

When you say "increase", I don't understand. You may think that I was referring to the third belt with the term "slot in between" ? I was actually talking about the empty gap between inner and outter belt, not the third belt (I have now changed the wording in the original post to clarify this). The third belt is created by solar storms.

From wikipedia

"The gap between the inner and outer Van Allen belts is sometimes called the "safe zone" or "safe slot", and is the location of medium Earth orbits. The gap is caused by the VLF radio waves, which scatter particles in pitch angle, which adds new ions to the atmosphere. Solar outbursts can also dump particles into the gap, but those drain out in a matter of days. The VLF radio waves were previously thought to be generated by turbulence in the radiation belts, but recent work by J.L. Green of the Goddard Space Flight Center^{[citation needed]} compared maps of lightning activity collected by the Microlab 1 spacecraft with data on radio waves in the radiation-belt gap from the IMAGE spacecraft; the results suggest that the radio waves are actually generated by lightning within Earth's atmosphere. The generated radio waves strike the ionosphere at the correct angle to pass through only at high latitudes, where the lower ends of the gap approach the upper atmosphere. These results are still being debated in the scientific community."

 

[hamateur 1953]

4 hours ago, Manu said:

I think it is from what they call whistler waves, which are VLF waves "produced by lightning strikes (mostly intracloud and return-path)". "return path" I don't know what this is...

When you say "increase", I don't understand. You may think that I was referring to the third belt with the term "slot in between" ? I was actually talking about the empty gap between inner and outter belt, not the third belt (I have now changed the wording in the original post to clarify this). The third belt is created by solar storms.

From wikipedia

"The gap between the inner and outer Van Allen belts is sometimes called the "safe zone" or "safe slot", and is the location of medium Earth orbits. The gap is caused by the VLF radio waves, which scatter particles in pitch angle, which adds new ions to the atmosphere. Solar outbursts can also dump particles into the gap, but those drain out in a matter of days. The VLF radio waves were previously thought to be generated by turbulence in the radiation belts, but recent work by J.L. Green of the Goddard Space Flight Center^{[citation needed]} compared maps of lightning activity collected by the Microlab 1 spacecraft with data on radio waves in the radiation-belt gap from the IMAGE spacecraft; the results suggest that the radio waves are actually generated by lightning within Earth's atmosphere. The generated radio waves strike the ionosphere at the correct angle to pass through only at high latitudes, where the lower ends of the gap approach the upper atmosphere. These results are still being debated in the scientific community."

 

Absolutely fascinating Im gonna tag a a couple of fellow Hams that will probably find this interesting as well. @KW2P @Glow Coat @WA1ZJL  Mike 

[Manu]

Apparently, they are a lot of different wave-particles interactions which influence and shape Van Allen belts : whistler waves, chorus waves , hiss waves, EMIC waves...

Here is about whistler waves :

"They are produced by lightning strikes (mostly intracloud and return-path) where the impulse travels along the Earth's magnetic field lines from one hemisphere to the other. The waves becomes highly dispersive and like guided waves, follow the lines of geomagnetic field. These lines provide the field with sufficient focusing influence and prevents the scattering of field energy. Their paths reach into the outer space as far as 3 to 4 times the Earth's radius in the plane of equator and bring energy from lightning discharge to the Earth at a point in the opposite hemisphere which is the magnetic conjugate of the position of radio emission for whistlers. From there, the whistler waves are reflected back to the hemisphere from which they started. The energy is almost perfectly reflected from earth surface 4 or 5 times with increase dispersion and diminishing amplitude. Along such long paths the speed of propagation of energy is between c/10 to c/100 (where c is the speed of light) and the exact value depends upon frequency."

Here is how whistler waves would sound if played through an audio system (they are not acoustic waves)

"These signals, called whistlers, are created by lightning discharges in Earth's atmosphere which then propagate back and forth along magnetic field lines with lower frequencies being delayed as they travel through the thin charged gas of space. The resulting spread in frequency produces a whistling tone with the dispersion related to the quantity of plasma the signal has traversed. In this unusual case, the spacecraft was fairly close to Earth near the magnetic equator, so reflections from the conjugate points in the magnetosphere allowed for rapid echoes to occur. With each bounce the whistler moves to slightly higher altitudes and the corresponding change in magnetic field strength affects the upper frequencies, causing them also to slow down forming so-called "nose" whistlers."

 

When they are detected into the magnetosheath, they are called lion's roar. But I think the generation mechanism is different in this case.

 

[Manu]

About how the lightnings from Earth may clear a safe zone into VA Belts :

Whistler radio waves clear the safe zone by interacting with the radiation belt particles, removing a little of their energy and changing their direction. This lowers the mirror point, the place above the polar regions where the particles bounce. Eventually, the mirror point becomes so low; it is in the Earth’s atmosphere. When this happens, the radiation belt particles can no longer bounce back into space, because they collide with atmospheric particles and dissipate their energy.

 

----------------------------------------------------------------

Now, about chorus waves :

" The electromagnetic dawn chorus is a phenomenon that occurs most often at or shortly after dawn local time. It is believed to be generated by [....] energetic (> 40 keV) electrons [which] are generally injected into the inner magnetosphere at the onset of the substorm expansion phase. Dawn choruses occur more frequently during magnetic storms.

This phenomenon also occurs during aurorae, when it is termed an auroral chorus.

With the proper radio equipment, dawn chorus can be converted to sounds that resemble, coincidentally, birds' dawn chorus."

Isn't it awesome? 

 

The chorus waves are created by electrons spiraling along magnetic field lines around Earth & bouncing back and forth between mirror points. Once generated, they interact with other electrons in the region to accelerate them to higher speeds or disturbing their spiral orbit and causing them to fall into Earth’s upper atmosphere along the magnetic lines.

 

How chorus waves would sound if played through an audio system (they are not acoustic waves) :

 

 

Edited August 4 by Manu

[hamateur 1953]

Sounds plausible!!!   Also within the four hour video on August 4 1972 Tamitha actually plays some Dawn Chorus and lightning strike rebounds. Pretty cool stuff.!  

Edited August 4 by hamateur 1953

[Manu]

Just a thought :

What if birds chorus was actually birds singing the song of the Earth?

What if whales songs were actually whales singing the song of the Earth?

What if lions roars were actually lions singing the song of the Earth?

And what would be the song of the Earth sung by humans?

Let's remember our songs... cause 'like the salt in the stew, it's all a part of you'...

 

Edited August 4 by Manu
update

[Archmonoth]

On 8/3/2024 at 1:26 PM, Manu said:

I think it is from what they call whistler waves, which are VLF waves "produced by lightning strikes (mostly intracloud and return-path)". "return path" I don't know what this is...

Thanks for your reply even if you don't know. From the description, it sounds like upper atmosphere lightning or Sprites. They have a variety of formations, and if there is a connection, perhaps the plasma formation is different.  Upper-atmospheric lightning - Wikipedia

On 8/3/2024 at 1:26 PM, Manu said:

When you say "increase", I don't understand. You may think that I was referring to the third belt with the term "slot in between" ? I was actually talking about the empty gap between inner and outter belt, not the third belt (I have now changed the wording in the original post to clarify this). The third belt is created by solar storms.

I see what you mean now. Thanks for clarifying. Either way, I was/am curious about any connection to the Van Allen belts (or areas around them) and upper atmosphere lightning. For example, are there more Trolls or Sprites? The month timeline for solar weather means there is a shoreline turbulence or a distinct atmospheric tide where different kinds of plasma formations might occur. (varieties of lightning) 

12 hours ago, Manu said:

Just a thought....

....And what would be the song of the Earth sung by humans?

Let's remember our songs... cause 'like the salt in the stew, it's all a part of you'...

Poetic comparison no doubt, and vague enough to fit into the Gaia hypothesis: Gaia hypothesis - Wikipedia

The Earth's song is probably a cough and wheeze, but such speculation is not space weather related so if you want to discuss more, send me a message. 

Edited August 4 by Archmonoth

[hamateur 1953]

Still a very interesting topic. In particular the increased lightning around Venezuela although it lies on the edge of the South Atlantic Anomaly. Perhaps another topic for future discussion.  Later. Mike. 
😎

Edited August 4 by hamateur 1953
Afterthoughts

[KW2P]

20 hours ago, hamateur 1953 said:

Sounds plausible!!!   Also within the four hour video on August 4 1972 Tamitha actually plays some Dawn Chorus and lightning strike rebounds. Pretty cool stuff.!  

I wish I'd taken more interest in this long ago. Several of my high school friends were hams and one of them was interested in whistlers and the dawn chorus. I paid little attention 55 years ago. Now I'm curious.