Swedes watch a display of aurora borealis, northern lights in Ostby in 2006. NASA is set to launch a spacecraft carrying five satellites on a mission to unveil the secrets of the origin of the aurora borealis.(AFP/File/Sven Nackstrand)
Posted on 02/15/2007 9:47:31 PM PST by NormsRevenge
WASHINGTON (AFP) - NASA is set to launch a spacecraft carrying five satellites on a mission to unveil the secrets of the origin of the aurora borealis.
The two-year mission, dubbed THEMIS -- an acronym for Time History of Events and Macroscale Interactions during Substorms -- will be coordinated by a team from the University of California at Berkeley.
Once deployed, the satellites will align below North America every four days to observe the formation of the aurora borealis, a bright play of lights in the night sky above the polar area, commonly known as the northern lights. On the ground, stations in Alaska and in Canada will photograph the multicolored phenomena.
"This is a challenging project that will replace old myths with scientific explanations for the lights' visible evidence of the earth's magnetosphere protecting us from the fatal effects of the solar wind," said Frank Snow, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's THEMIS mission manager.
Scientists hope that the five satellites operating jointly will be able to identify the precise location of where the aurora borealis starts.
Scientists currently believe that the lights are caused by solar winds that are deformed when they reach the earth's magnetic field, forming a tail of sorts when caught in the wind.
The energy stored in this 'tail' is released sporadically, causing substorms at the equator and then spreading out towards the north and south poles, where it produces aurora borealis phenomenon.
While scientists have a good idea how this works, they have been unable to explain where in the magnetosphere the energy of solar wind transforms into the spectacular phenomenon of lights.
A satellite launched earlier to study the origin of the aurora borealis failed to deliver the expected results.
The five THEMIS satellites will carry an identical series of sensors to monitor electric and magnetic particles. Every four days, they will be aligned along the edge of the earth's magnetic field to monitor the disturbances observed in the magnetosphere.
The mission's key element is its ability to collect data simultaneously from five different angles.
"We believe this project will usher in a new era of understanding about the nature of sun-earth connections," said Vassilis Angelopoulos, the THEMIS principal investigator and member of the UC Berkeley team.
"Many of Nasa's future science missions will be constellations of satellites that will provide simultaneous, three dimensional views of nature," said NASA's Snow.
"Themis will give us a deeper understanding of the impact of the solar wind on the Earth and provide vital data for our manned explorations as they travel to the moon and beyond," he said.
Swedes watch a display of aurora borealis, northern lights in Ostby in 2006. NASA is set to launch a spacecraft carrying five satellites on a mission to unveil the secrets of the origin of the aurora borealis.(AFP/File/Sven Nackstrand)
Image credit: NASA/George Shelton
Technicians place the five THEMIS satellites inside the nose fairing of their Delta II rocket.
I watched the northern lights last night from our cabin in Alaska. Thank you so much for posting this fascinating information! BTTT!
Hi RightWhale, thought you might like to read this too. :) chena
Why "THEMIS?"
Image above: Image of substorm models. Credit: UC/Berkeley
Themis is the goddess of justice, wisdom and good counsel, the guardian of oaths, and the interpreter of the gods' will in Greek mythology. The daughter of Uranus (Sky) and Gaia (Earth), she was Zeus' second consort and the mother of the Horae (the Seasons) and the Moirae (the Fates). Legend also holds that Themis was the mother of Prometheus.
Themis is typically depicted with a sword and scales, symbolizing both her power and her impartiality. Her blindfolding dates from the 16th Century and signifies Themis' famed neutrality. This accounts for the commonly used term, "blind justice." The modern depiction is of a young woman, often blindfolded, holding her scales and sword. This image of Themis is today prominently displayed in the hall of justice and flown on flags worldwide.
The THEMIS mission will impartially distinguish, as implied by the goddess' name, between two disparate phenomenological and plasma-physical models of substorm onset in order to solve a tantalizing mystery: Where and when do substorms start in the Earth's magnetosphere? This question has been the subject of scientific contention for over thirty years.
Fascinating! I wondered why the name, "Themis", was nagging at my memory. One of the homeschool classes that our son took his Senior year in high school was mythology. He probably would have remembered Themis before I did but I won't admit it. Oh, I just did. har har
Like Fire in the sky, colors dancing and hanging in mid-air, I remember seeing a few on our trips North and as a kid in Minnesota.. An incredible sight, especially in really active displays.
I grew up on MN, out in hte country by St. Cloud. I too loved watching the northern lights in the winter skies.
Themis hasn't aged a bit! LOL I grew up in Visconsin and remember my dad taking us all outside whenever the northern lights were active. But it wasn't until I grew up and moved to Alaska that I realized how spectacular they could be. And oh, when they're dancing and changing colors it's just about impossible to stop watching and crawl back in bed.
I used to wake up my husband and our sons whenever the lights were out and beg them to come watch. They loved it when I did that. ;)
I grew up 60 miles to the Northwest of there.
Here's one of my favorite links: http://www.gedds.alaska.edu/AuroraForecast/
That link will take you to the Geophysical Institute at the University of Fairbanks. They post an aurora forecast; both short term and long term.
Here's another one
North and South Pole shots
Auroral Activity Extrapolated from NOAA POES
North Pole
South Pole
Sometimes I get to see a Poker Flat launch even though they don't announce beforehand except the general month. If it is night and you happen to be looking that direction it is a major streak of light usually straight up and fast. One had a little problem with the second stage which was an obvious burn through and very visible. They will launch barium sometimes to make the aurora more visible and that can be spectacular.
I'm adding that one to my bookmark file too. Thank you!
I've never had the oppportunity to see one of the Poker Flat launches but I'd sure like to. It's unfortunate that we aren't able to know in advance when they plan on launching one of their rockets. Here's an old article from 1985 titled, "Alaska's Space Pyrotechnics".
http://www.gi.alaska.edu/ScienceForum/ASF7/703.html
Launches occur mainly with next to no notice. But they could break into the Art Bell Show two minutes beforehand to say 'run outdoors and look toward Chatanika.' There's a lot of people up at 3 AM who would appreciate it.
spaceflightnow.com
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 2007
1456 GMT (9:56 a.m. EST)
Retraction of the service gantry from around the ULA Delta 2 rocket has begun at Cape Canaveral's pad 17B in advance of today's 6:05 p.m. EST liftoff of the THEMIS mission.
The gantry was used to stack the multi-stage vehicle atop the pad's launch mount, attach the nine strap-on solid motors and hoist the payload aboard the rocket. The tower also provided the primary weather protection and worker access to the rocket during its stay on the oceanside complex at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.
The next few hours will be spent configuring launch pad equipment and securing the site.
The Terminal Countdown remains scheduled to start at 3:05 p.m. EST, followed about 20 minutes later by loading the first stage with kerosene propellant. Liquid oxygen should begin flowing into the first stage around 4:20 p.m.
Thank you for that update. It's cloudy here this morning with light snow falling but it might clear up by this afternoon. If it's clear, I'll look up. ;)
spaceflightnow.com
2110 GMT (4:10 p.m. EST)
NASA launch manager Chuck Dovale says upper level winds are "no go" right now. Several more weather balloons will be dispatched during the rest of the countdown to continue watching the winds aloft in hopes of launching the Delta 2 this evening. Today's window extends from 6:05 to 6:23 p.m. EST.
spaceflightnow.com
2135 GMT (4:35 p.m. EST)
Now 90 minutes to launch, if the upper level winds cooperate.
2131 GMT (4:31 p.m. EST)
Liquid oxygen loading is passing the 10-minute mark. The process should take about 25 minutes in total.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.