NASA’s Parker Solar Probe (PSP) was launched on August 12‚ 2018‚ with the goal of becoming the first spacecraft to touch the Sun while teaching us more about our host star than any spacecraft or solar instrument in human history. Now‚ a recent study submitted to The Astrophysical Journal discusses the incredible data that PSP collected on coronal mass ejections (CMEs) over a four-year period. This study holds the potential to help scientists and the public better understand the CMEs and how they contribute to space weather. Here‚ Universe Today speaks with Dr. Tarik Mohammad Salman‚ who is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at George Mason University and lead author of the study regarding the motivation behind the study‚ its most significant results‚ implications for future research‚ PSP contributions‚ and the importance of studying CMEs. So‚ what was the motivation behind this study? “The PSP science data is a treasure trove as it samples the solar wind at uncharted radial distances from the Sun‚” Dr. Salman tells Universe Today. “There have been numerous case studies of coronal mass ejections (CMEs) using PSP observations that provided new insights into the evolution of CMEs as the structures propagate farther from the Sun. We are in the sixth year of the PSP mission which provided us with a reasonable number of CME events to perform a statistical investigation. That was the motivation for this project to compile a catalog of CME events that PSP measured from 2018-2022 and also to investigate different perspectives of CME evolution in a statistical manner.” For the study‚ PSP collected direct measurements of 32 interplanetary coronal mass ejections (ICMEs) between October 2018 and August 2022 and distances from the Sun ranging between 0.23 and 0.83 astronomical units (AU)‚ with 1 AU being the distance between the Earth and the Sun‚ or approximately 150 million kilometers (93 million miles). Of the 32 measurements‚ four were discarded due to gaps in the data‚ leaving 28 CMEs successfully measured by PSP. The study’s objectives were to identify various aspects of CMEs‚ specifically pertaining to how they change as they travel farther from the Sun‚ also known as radial distance. So‚ what were the most significant results from this study? Dr. Salman tells Universe Today‚ “A few results that I would like to highlight are that we observed the internal CME magnetic structure to become more complex with radial distance. We found the CME magnetic field strength to decrease at a lower rate than previous studies. We also saw that the expansion of the CME is important in the formation of the compression region ahead of it and the internal magnetic field has an influence on the short-scale fluctuations we find within the compression region.” While the study of CMEs falls under the scientific field of solar physics‚ which studies how our entire Sun functions‚ scientists also classify CMEs as part of space weather‚ which studies the activity on the Sun’s surface and how it affects the surrounding environment. Space weather can wreak havoc on electronics‚ specifically communication satellites and power stations on Earth‚ with one of the most notable space weather events occurring in September 1859 known as the Carrington Event‚ which was caused by a massive solar storm that wreaked havoc on worldwide electrical grids and created spectacular auroras across the globe‚ as well‚ with the latter traditionally only being visible in the northern and southern latitudes. Therefore‚ what implications can this study have on future research regarding our Sun‚ and specifically space weather? “The compiled catalog of CME events itself will be a valuable resource for performing future extensive case studies‚” Dr. Salman tells Universe Today. “Understanding the evolution of CMEs is of paramount importance for space weather operations. This statistical investigation of different aspects of CME evolution is a step towards that as it validates previous approximations but also raises new questions that need to be explored further with a more robust data set in the future.” After having its first solar encounter in October 2018‚ PSP has continued to smash records regarding its distance from our Sun. This includes achieving its closest distance of 7.26 million kilometers (4.51 million miles) on September 27‚ 2023‚ which is slated to be surpassed after its last flyby of Venus in November 2024. Science objectives for PSP include determining the solar corona processes responsible for producing the solar wind‚ gaining insight into the solar plasma and magnetic field properties‚ and learning more about additional energy particles emitted by the Sun. The reason why PSP can travel so close to our Sun is due to its state-of-the-art solar shield comprised of a 11.43-centimeter-thick (4.5-inch-thich) carbon-composite shield capable of withstanding scorching temperatures up to 1‚377 degrees Celsius (2‚500 degrees Fahrenheit). While PSP has already broken records regarding its distance to the Sun‚ PSP is slated to come within 6.16 million kilometers (3.83 million miles) during its mission‚ which is planned to last a total of seven years. But how has PSP contributed to our understanding of our Sun and space weather? “PSP is so important for us to advance our current understanding of CME evolution and space weather‚” Dr. Salman tells Universe Today. “The questions of interest for space weather are will a CME impact Earth and whether it will have a southward field component to interact with the northward magnetic field of Earth. Our modeling frameworks depend on an initial characterization of the CME closer to the Sun (within 20 solar radii) based on which the models project the CME parameters when it impacts Earth.” Dr. Salman continues‚ “The initial characterization is made based on CME remote-sensing imaging. What PSP is doing is providing direct measurements of CMEs in the initial phases of propagation. Adding to this are the widespread radial observations of PSP to make our statistical approximations more robust. This is how PSP is contributing to develop a more accurate picture of the CME propagation and evolution from closer to the Sun to Earth.” Animation showing NASA’s Parker Solar Probe studying the Sun. (Credit: NASA Goddard Space Flight Center/CIL/Brian Monroe) CMEs have been observed for thousands of years in the form of auroras when the solar wind interacts with the Earth’s magnetic field near the planet’s surface. They are produced from the Sun’s corona in the form of massive discharges when solar plasma interacts with the Sun’s massive magnetic field and their velocities can range from 250 kilometers per second (155 miles per second) to almost 3‚000 kilometers per second (1‚864 miles per second). CMEs are monitored by the Space Weather Prediction Center with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration using a combination of ground- and space-based solar observatories. As noted‚ space weather is constantly monitored to determine how much damage can be caused to Earth surface power grids and satellite communications. But aside from monitoring space weather‚ why is it so important to study CMEs? “CMEs are crucial for the existence of our Sun‚” Dr. Salman tells Universe Today. “CMEs appear as a valve that releases the built-up magnetic field from the Sun without which the Sun will rip itself apart. But the investigation of CME science also has important societal relevance. CMEs drive the strongest solar storms that can wreak havoc through impacting power grids and telecommunication networks. CMEs can also damage orbiting satellites and technological infrastructure. CMEs are now counted among the major natural hazards as well. A more in-depth understanding of CMEs (from initiation to propagation to evolution along the Sun-Earth line) is thus required to improve the current status quo of space weather operations.” What new discoveries will researchers make about coronal mass ejections in the coming years and decades? Only time will tell‚ and this is why we science! As always‚ keep doing science &; keep looking up! The post Parker Solar Probe Was Blasted by Coronal Mass Ejections 28 Times in 4 Years appeared first on Universe Today.

The disturbing new normal.

This could be you.

Bassist admits he's pissed off "that they put out a product with so little thought behind it." Continue reading…

While behind the moderator desk at ABC This Week‚ noted January 6th hysteric Jon Karl tried to “gotcha” Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) on several fronts during a broad-ranging interview‚ attempting to embarrass him over his prior primary against Donald Trump as Rubio is now under consideration‚ per reports‚ to be Trump’s 2024 running mate. Instead‚ Karl got shut down at each turn. Watch as Karl tries to shame Rubio for considering the offer to join Trump on the ballot “an honor”:  JON KARL: There was some reporting this week that you are possibly under consideration to be Donald Trump's running mate. I don't put a lot of stock in this reporting right now. We're early‚ but you said it would be an honor to be offered a spot on his ticket. Really?  MARCO RUBIO: Yeah. I think anyone who is offered the opportunity to serve this country as vice president should be honored by the opportunity to do it if you are in public service. I'm in the Senate because I want to serve the country. Being vice president is an important way to serve the country. But I've also been clear. I've never talked to Donald Trump‚ I’ve never talked to anybody on his team or family or inner circle about vice president. That's the decision he's going to make. He has plenty of really good people to pick from.  KARL: I mean‚ the reason why I ask is- look what happened to the last guy. I mean‚ a mob stormed the Capitol‚ literally calling to hang Mike Pence. RUBIO: Listen‚ I- KARL: And Trump defended those chants of “hang Mike Pence”. RUBIO: I will tell you this‚ that when Donald Trump was president of the United States‚ this country was safer‚ it was more prosperous. We had relations for example‚ in a part of the world I care about called the Western Hemisphere‚ that were very strong and we had a lot of good things done there. I think the country and the world was a better place when he was president. And I would love to see him return to the White House in comparison to the guy who's there now‚ Joe Biden‚ who's been a disaster economically. Look at the world- every single day we wake up to a new crisis‚ a new conflict. Everything has gone on fire since the time Joe Biden took over. Afghanistan's gone down‚ Ukraine has been invaded. Now the Philippines and the Chinese are on the verge of something bad every single day‚ not to mention the threats to Taiwan. We have this blowup in Haiti going on in our very own hemisphere. We wake up every day- terrorist attacks and 9 million people across the border.  KARL: But- but- but- but-  RUBIO: I mean‚ that’s what matters to me. KARL: I mean‚ you're not suggesting that's all happening because of Biden.  RUBIO: Absolutely‚ I am. Absolutely I'm suggesting it's happening because of Biden. He's president and his weakness --  KARL: It’s because of Biden that Russia invaded Ukraine? RUBIO: Absolutely.  KARL: It’s because of Biden that Haiti…  RUBIO: Absolutely. I mean‚ Putin is sitting there saying‚ these guys can't even stand up to the Taliban and they have to fly people hanging off the wings of these airplanes. Now's the time to go. Really?‚ asks Karl‚ in reaction to Rubio’s answer‚ and then immediately dives back into January 6th hysteria. The underlying sentiment behind Karl's faux incredulousness is that somehow it would not be an honor to be on the presidential ticket. Rubio easily swatted away both the question joining the ticket and on J6 bait‚ and went into a detailed indictment of President Joe Biden’s policies and how they’ve been detrimental to the country. As a result‚ Karl was quickly left sputtering when he saw where the conversation was headed. Shortly thereafter‚ Karl tried to take another shot at embarrassing Rubio for being considered to join the Trump ticket‚ airing portions of his “con man” speech from the 2016 GOP primary. Here‚ again‚ Rubio forced Karl to backtrack. After opening this line of questioning by saying‚ asking for this “trip down memory lane”‚ Karl drifted to presidential immunity after getting shut down again: KARL: Can we take a quick trip down memory lane when we’re talking about this? This was you in 2016.  RUBIO: What we are dealing with here‚ my friends‚ is a con artist. He is a con artist. First of all‚ he runs on this idea that he is fighting for the little guy‚ but he has spent his entire career sticking it to the little guy. If you all have friends that are thinking of voting for Donald Trump‚ friends do not let friends vote for con artists. KARL: Friends don’t let friends vote for con artists…  RUBIO: It was a campaign.  KARL: You know I could’ve gone on. I could’ve played more. RUBIO: Yeah‚ but- so‚ so why didn't you play the clip of Kamala Harris basically insinuating that Joe Biden was a segregationist on the debate stage‚ and she’s now his vice president?  KARL: We’ve played that‚ but let me ask you...  RUBIO: But you didn't play it now. KARL: That was then.  RUBIO: Yeah‚ that was then. But it was a campaign.  KARL: Okay‚ okay‚ but let me ask you right now. Where we are right now. Donald Trump is making the case‚ and he's going to do it before the Supreme Court‚ that the President of the United States should have absolute immunity‚ should effectively be above the law for virtually anything that a president does while in office. You don't agree with that‚ do you?  Karl didn’t like how the stroll down Memory Lane ended‚ hence the pivot to immunity with a dash of the New York civil trial‚ which Rubio handled. Anyone under consideration to join Trump on the 2024 ballot can expect the same from the corporate media‚ with varying degrees of intensity and success: disqualifying questions‚ attempts to pull up some past statement of opposition to Trump (especially true of former primary challengers)‚ and generalized January 6th hysteria. In other words‚ more of the same nonsense that the media have burped out for the last 8 years. Click “expand” to view the cited portions of the aforementioned interview as aired on ABC This Week on Sunday‚ March 24th‚ 2024: JON KARL: I want to turn to politics. There was some reporting this week that you are possibly under consideration to be Donald Trump's running mate. I don't put a lot of stock in this reporting right now. We're early‚ but you said it would be an honor to be offered a spot on his ticket. Really?  MARCO RUBIO: Yeah. I think anyone who is offered the opportunity to serve this country as vice president should be honored by the opportunity to do it if you are in public service. I'm in the Senate because I want to serve the country. Being vice president is an important way to serve the country. But I've also been clear. I've never talked to Donald Trump‚ I’ve never talked to anybody on his team or family or inner circle about vice president. That's the decision he's going to make. He has plenty of really good people to pick from.  KARL: I mean‚ the reason why I ask is- look what happened to the last guy. I mean‚ a mob stormed the Capitol‚ literally calling to hang Mike Pence. RUBIO: Listen‚ I- KARL: And Trump defended those chants of “hang Mike Pence”. RUBIO: I will tell you this‚ that when Donald Trump was president of the United States‚ this country was safer‚ it was more prosperous. We had relations for example‚ in a part of the world I care about called the Western Hemisphere‚ that were very strong and we had a lot of good things done there. I think the country and the world was a better place when he was president. And I would love to see him return to the White House in comparison to the guy who's there now‚ Joe Biden‚ who's been a disaster economically. Look at the world- every single day we wake up to a new crisis‚ a new conflict. Everything has gone on fire since the time Joe Biden took over. Afghanistan's gone down‚ Ukraine has been invaded. Now the Philippines and the Chinese are on the verge of something bad every single day‚ not to mention the threats to Taiwan. We have this blowup in Haiti going on in our very own hemisphere. We wake up every day- terrorist attacks and 9 million people across the border.  KARL: But- but- but- but-  RUBIO: I mean‚ that’s what matters to me. KARL: I mean‚ you're not suggesting that's all happening because of Biden.  RUBIO: Absolutely‚ I am. Absolutely I'm suggesting it's happening because of Biden. He's president and his weakness --  KARL: It’s because of Biden that Russia invaded Ukraine? RUBIO: Absolutely.  KARL: It’s because of Biden that Haiti…  RUBIO: Absolutely. I mean‚ Putin is sitting there saying‚ these guys can't even stand up to the Taliban and they have to fly people hanging off the wings of these airplanes. Now's the time to go. It’s- and‚ by the way… KARL: Trump's the one saying that-- suggesting that there should be a deal that effectively gives Putin what he wants in Ukraine‚ but can we take a quick--  RUBIO: That's not true. What he said is he wants the conflict to end which is striking to me that people- why wouldn't people want peace? What I’ve said is‚ there is going to be a negotiated (settlement). Russia's not going to take all of Ukraine… KARL: Can we just… RUBIO: …and Ukraine's not going to push Russia back to the- where it was in 2014. I want Ukraine to have the upper hand in any negotiation. KARL: Can we take a quick trip down memory lane when we’re talking about this? This was you in 2016.  RUBIO: What we are dealing with here‚ my friends‚ is a con artist. He is a con artist. First of all‚ he runs on this idea that he is fighting for the little guy‚ but he has spent his entire career sticking it to the little guy. If you all have friends that are thinking of voting for Donald Trump‚ friends do not let friends vote for con artists. KARL: Friends don’t let friends vote for con artists…  RUBIO: It was a campaign.  KARL: You know I could’ve gone on. I could’ve played more. RUBIO: Yeah‚ but- so‚ so why didn't you play the clip of Kamala Harris basically insinuating that Joe Biden was a segregationist on the debate stage‚ and she’s now his vice president?  KARL: We’ve played that‚ but let me ask you...  RUBIO: But you didn't play it now. KARL: That was then.  RUBIO: Yeah‚ that was then. But it was a campaign.  KARL: Okay‚ okay‚ but let me ask you right now. Where we are right now. Donald Trump is making the case‚ and he's going to do it before the Supreme Court‚ that the President of the United States should have absolute immunity‚ should effectively be above the law for virtually anything that a president does while in office. You don't agree with that‚ do you?  RUBIO: Well‚ so- I don't think that in the case of immunity‚ there's two separate issues here. One is: can the president do anything? Can he go out and basically kill‚ you know‚ one of the members of the staff overnight inside the White House? Obviously‚ that's an absurd outcome and that's a common crime. But I do think there's a legitimate issue here that we need to talk about writ large‚ especially after what we've seen the last three years‚ is: do we want to live in a country where basically the opponents of a president can extort them‚ can have leverage over them during their entire presidency and say‚ “Don’t worry‚ once you're out of office‚ we're going to prosecute you‚ we’re going to come after you‚ we’re going to charge you for this crime and that crime?  KARL: Yeah‚ but he’s saying- he’s saying absolute immunity. I mean- RUBIO: I mean- we'll see. KARL: Okay. RUBIO: You know this goes before the Supreme Court. There are going to be oral arguments.  KARL: I'm saying a guy that wants to run for president.  RUBIO: He's not representing himself at the Supreme Court. Lawyers will make that argument‚ but we're living in a country now where basically if you are president‚ now you have to think to yourself‚ “I've got to be careful what I do as president‚ not even legal or illegal‚ even on policy because if I upset the wrong people‚ as soon as I leave some state prosecutor’s going to…”  KARL: You should be careful not to break the law as president.  RUBIO: Well‚ but look at these prosecutions that are coming about. You've got this lady- clear partisan in New York- who's basically prosecuting the president over loans‚ something that's never been done to anybody before. The banks… KARL: (Unint)  RUBIO: …who are supposedly victims of what they claim  are all saying “we're don’t even rely on what the president's statements are. We do our own internal investigation to see if the properties are worth what they're worth”‚ and you've got a judgment on him. That's one example of trying to bankrupt him and jail him.  KARL: OK‚ but give me this. You don't think the people who attacked the Capitol are “absolute patriots” like Trump says and should be pardoned‚ do you?  RUBIO: No‚ what I do think is that people that went into the Capitol and committed crimes of violence or had‚ you know‚ zip ties and all of that- are different from someone who walked in through an open door. I think they should have prioritized and only prosecuted the people who committed acts of violence--  KARL: But these are not “absolute patriots”...  RUBIO: If you attack a police officer or go into the Capitol‚ no. There are people that have been charged‚ in some cases‚ egregiously charged for simply walking in. They didn't attack anybody. Why didn't they do that for the people that set all those fires in Portland?  KARL: All right‚ Senator Rubio. Thank you for joining us this morning. We appreciate it. RUBIO: Thank you.  

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