Current Events

  • Atmospheric CO2 Level Tops 400 ppm
    During the week of May 13th, the CO2 level at the Mauna Loa Observatory in Hawaii topped 400 ppm rep...Read more

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    Atmospheric CO2 Level Tops 400 ppm

    During the week of May 13th, the CO2 level at the Mauna Loa Observatory in Hawaii topped 400 ppm repeatedly. Daily levels of CO2 can vary due to weather, and there are seasonal trends as well. The level of atmospheric greenhouse gases continues to increase, now over 120 ppm since the Industrial Revolution began. For more on the Keeling Curve, see http://keelingcurve.ucsd.edu/. Find out more about greenhouse gases and warming.
  • Massive Tornado Outbreak on Tornado Alley
    The week of May 19 brings dozens of tornadoes to Tornado Alley in the states of Oklahoma, Kansas, Io...Read more

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    Massive Tornado Outbreak on Tornado Alley

    The week of May 19 brings dozens of tornadoes to Tornado Alley in the states of Oklahoma, Kansas, Iowa, Illinois and Missouri. On May 20th, a massive tornado struck Moore, Oklahoma, devastating communities - destroying over 100 homes and hitting two elementary schools and a hospital - with many casualties and deaths. Our thoughts are with our friends and colleagues suffering from these storms. For more on the May 20th storms, see the NOAA Storm Prediction Center Storm Report.
  • 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.

A Look at Neptune's Magnetosphere

The magnetosphere of Neptune is very much like that of Uranus, medium sized but still much larger than the Earth's. Like that of Uranus, is probably made in the middle and with ice, rather than with iron at the core.

Like Uranus, the magnetosphere of Neptune has an extreme tilt, almost 60 degrees. Because Neptune itself is not tilted however, the magnetosphere of Neptune has a more standard, but still completely unique structure.

Mathematical theory suggests that the rings of Neptune affect the motion of particles in this unique magnetosphere, and also are responsible for the presence of three small plasmaspheres instead of one large version!

Like Saturn, Neptune's magnetosphere produces aurora but very faint ones, as well as radio emissions and other waves, such as whistler waves, chorus and hiss.




"What is a Magnetosphere?"

How We Detect Magnetic Fields with Spacecraft

The Poles of Neptune

Last modified April 22, 2009 by Randy Russell.

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