Current Events

  • Kansas Legislator Proposes Bill to Outlaw Sustainability Education
    A bill has been introduced in the Kansas legislature this week that would prohibit the promotion of ...Read more

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    Kansas Legislator Proposes Bill to Outlaw Sustainability Education

    A bill has been introduced in the Kansas legislature this week that would prohibit the promotion of sustainability. Here is a link to the one-page bill: http://www.kslegislature.org/li/b2013_14/measures/documents/hb2366_00_0000.pdf. See report on Bloomberg News.
  • Earth's Center Is 1,000 Degrees Hotter Than Previously Thought, Synchrotron X-Ray Experiment Shows
    Scientists have determined the temperature near the Earth’s center to be 6000 degrees Celsius, 1000 ...Read more

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    Earth's Center Is 1,000 Degrees Hotter Than Previously Thought, Synchrotron X-Ray Experiment Shows

    Scientists have determined the temperature near the Earth’s center to be 6000 degrees Celsius, 1000 degrees hotter than in a previous experiment run 20 years ago. These measurements confirm geophysical models that the temperature difference between the solid core and the mantle above, must be at least 1500 degrees to explain why the Earth has a magnetic field. For more information about this study, see the press release from the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility.
  • Ocean Volcanic Rocks Contain Samples of Recycled Crust
    Scientists have long believed that lava erupted from certain oceanic volcanoes contains materials fr...Read more

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    Ocean Volcanic Rocks Contain Samples of Recycled Crust

    Scientists have long believed that lava erupted from certain oceanic volcanoes contains materials from the early Earth’s crust. But decisive evidence for this phenomenon has proven elusive. New research from a team including Carnegie’s Erik Hauri demonstrates that oceanic volcanic rocks contain samples of recycled crust dating back to the Archean era 2.5 billion years ago. Their work is published in Nature. Oceanic crust sinks into the Earth’s mantle at so-called subduction zones, where two plates come together. Much of what happens to the crust during this journey is unknown. Model-dependent studies for how long subducted material can exist in the mantle are uncertain and evidence of very old crust returning to Earth’s surface via upwellings of magma has not been found until now. For more information about these results, see the press release from the Carnegie Institution.
This image is a radio map of Jupiter.
Click on image for full size
JPL

Related links:

"Return to Jupiter's Magnetosphere"

Radio Signals of Jupiter

Radio signals are a signature of activity within the magnetosphere. There are many kinds of radio waves in the Jupiter environment. These are:

  • DIM - the name for radio waves which have a wavelength of DecIMeters
    DIM is also called synchrotron radiation. It is emitted by electrons traveling at relativistic speeds (the speed of light) trapped on magnetic field lines between r=1.5 RJ and r=3 RJ.

    This radiation is used to study the inner magnetosphere. Detailed maps of the intensity and polarization of waves have been produced, yielding info on the direction and magnitude of the magnetic field in the inner magnetosphere.

  • DAM - the name for radio waves which have a wavelength of DecAMeters
    DAM is the most intense of Jupiter's radio signals. DAM is often associated with the formation of the aurora at Jupiter (instead of Hiss, which is associated with the formation of the aurora on Earth).
  • HOM - the name for radio waves which have a wavelength of HectOMeters
    HOM is the name for radio waves which have to do with the solar wind entering the magnetosphere, just like Saturn's SKR radio signals.


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