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Earth's upper atmosphere shrinking, scientists say
AFP on Yahoo ^ | 8/27/10 | AFP

Posted on 08/27/2010 11:33:22 AM PDT by NormsRevenge

WASHINGTON (AFP) – The upper reaches of Earth's atmosphere are unexpectedly shrinking and cooling due to lower ultraviolet radiation from the sun, US scientists said Thursday.

The sun's energy output dropped to unusually low levels from 2007 to 2009, a significantly long spell with virtually no sunspots or solar storms, according to scientists from the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colorado.

During that period, the thermosphere, whose altitude ranges from about 55 to 300 miles (90 to 500 kilometers), shrank and contracted from the sharp drop in ultraviolet radiation, said the study published in the American Geophysical Union's journal Geophysical Research Letters.

The thermosphere cooled by 74 degrees Fahrenheit (41 Celsius) in 2008 compared to 1996, and shrank by 30 percent, "more than at any time in the 43-year era of space exploration" the researchers said.

"Our work demonstrates that the solar cycle not only varies on the typical 11-year time scale, but also can vary from one solar minimum to another," said study lead author Stanley Solomon.

A narrower, less dense thermosphere is good news for satellites orbiting Earth, ..

.. but it is also bad because of the thousands of non-operating objects (debris) remaining in space that could potentially have collisions with our working satellites," he added.

Woods said the research shows the sun could be going through a period of relatively low activity, as it did in the early 19th and 20th centuries.

(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Foreign Affairs
KEYWORDS: atmosphere; earth; ncar; shrinking; solarstorms; sunspots; thermosphere
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HuGH and SerieS BreaKing NewZ!!!

I usually avoid the thermosphere if I can help it.. traffic is pretty intense up there sometimes.

1 posted on 08/27/2010 11:33:25 AM PDT by NormsRevenge
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To: NormsRevenge

Holy mackeral...more “unexpectedly”.


2 posted on 08/27/2010 11:34:27 AM PDT by BenLurkin (This post is not a statement of fact. It is merely a personal opinion -- or humor -- or both.)
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To: NormsRevenge

We are doomed! On the bright side, I don’t need to worry about the Obama Economy anymore!


3 posted on 08/27/2010 11:34:32 AM PDT by brytlea (Jesus loves me, this I know.)
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To: BenLurkin
Damn, forehead palm slap.. I forgot to include 'unexpectedly' in the title. ;-)

This picture from NASA's Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) shows a view of the Sun. The sun's energy output dropped to unusually low levels from 2007 to 2009, a significantly long spell with virtually no sunspots or solar storms, US scientists said. (AFP/NASA/File)


4 posted on 08/27/2010 11:36:33 AM PDT by NormsRevenge (Semper Fi ... Godspeed .. Monthly Donor Onboard .. Obama: Epic Fail or Bust!!!)
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To: NormsRevenge

Bush’s Fault.


5 posted on 08/27/2010 11:37:17 AM PDT by zort (When someone resorts to calling you a "troll", that's when you know they've lost the argument.)
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To: NormsRevenge

and then to top it off there’s this:

http://socioecohistory.wordpress.com/2009/05/09/nasa-warns-of-super-solar-storm-2012/

Solar flares rise and fall on an 11-year cycle, and last year marked what scientists thought was the solar minimum. But through the beginning of 2009, the sun stayed unusually quiet. That changed yesterday, when a major sunspot appeared on the backside of the sun, where it was captured by NASA’s STEREO instrument.

“This is the biggest event we’ve seen in a year or so,” said Michael Kaiser, research scientist with the heliophysics division at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. “Does this mean we’re finished with the minimum or not? It’s hard to say. This could be it. It’s got us all excited.”


6 posted on 08/27/2010 11:37:31 AM PDT by sodpoodle (Despair - Man's surrender. Laughter -God's redemption)
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To: brytlea

Ok what stupid laws are thry gonna pass this time? Surely there is some type of goods or activity they haven’t outlawed or controlled yet.


7 posted on 08/27/2010 11:38:12 AM PDT by sanjoaquinvalley (Longtime Lady Lurker)
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To: sanjoaquinvalley

thry = they


8 posted on 08/27/2010 11:38:50 AM PDT by sanjoaquinvalley (Longtime Lady Lurker)
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To: NormsRevenge
Doomed. We're doomed.

Clearly, the only way to fix this is to raise taxes, ban handguns, and pass the fairness doctrine - we must, for the children.

9 posted on 08/27/2010 11:38:54 AM PDT by OldDeckHand
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To: NormsRevenge
Now this is definitely All Bush's Fault!
10 posted on 08/27/2010 11:39:05 AM PDT by samtheman
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To: sanjoaquinvalley
"thry = they"

I thought you were getting Shakespearean. You should have ran with it - or raneth with it.

11 posted on 08/27/2010 11:40:03 AM PDT by OldDeckHand
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To: NormsRevenge
"If it is indeed similar to certain patterns in the past, then we expect to have low solar cycles for the next 10 to 30 years," he added.
Then can we drop the cap'n'crap for awhile, please?
12 posted on 08/27/2010 11:41:00 AM PDT by samtheman
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To: NormsRevenge

Global warming on the sun is causing a greenhouse effect, trapping the energy on the sun.

We’re going to freeze to death.

It’s caused by leftwing activists.


13 posted on 08/27/2010 11:41:38 AM PDT by <1/1,000,000th%
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To: BenLurkin

Holy mackeral...more “unexpectedly”.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Betcha it’s unprecedented, too.


14 posted on 08/27/2010 11:41:38 AM PDT by loungitude ( The truth hurts.)
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To: NormsRevenge

Yes, of course! And we all believe scientists, right?


15 posted on 08/27/2010 11:42:39 AM PDT by loungitude ( The truth hurts.)
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To: OldDeckHand
Doomed. We're doomed.

Clearly, the only way to fix this is to raise taxes, ban handguns, and pass the fairness doctrine - we must, for the children.

You left out the immediate ban of incandescent light bulbs, and for Michelle to take another vacation.

16 posted on 08/27/2010 11:43:34 AM PDT by mbarker12474 (If thine enemy offend thee, give his childe a drum.)
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To: NormsRevenge

...older news:

NASA: Ionosphere not where it should be [Dec 17, 2008]

The U.S. space agency says it has discovered the boundary between the Earth’s upper atmosphere and space has moved to extraordinarily low altitudes. ....
But the first discovery was that the ionosphere was not where it had been expected to be. During the first months of the satellite’s operations, the transition between the ionosphere and space was found to be at about 260 miles altitude during the nighttime, barely rising above 500 miles during the day. Those altitudes, said NASA, were extraordinarily low compared with the more typical values of 400 miles during the nighttime and 600 miles during the day.
http://www.spacedaily.com/reports/NASA_Ionosphere_not_where_it_should_be_999.html


17 posted on 08/27/2010 11:43:45 AM PDT by Bulwinkle (Alec, a.k.a. Daffy Duck)
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To: NormsRevenge

Well, perhaps if we boost our carbon output, it’ll act much like the inflow of air into a ballon expanding our atmosphere.


18 posted on 08/27/2010 11:44:07 AM PDT by swarthyguy (KIDS! Deficit, Debt,Taxes!Pfft Lookit the bright side of our legacy -Ummrika is almost SmokFrei!)
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To: NormsRevenge

So let me guess... we’re going to have to ban cotton?


19 posted on 08/27/2010 11:45:06 AM PDT by theDentist (fybo; qwerty ergo typo : i type, therefore i misspelll)
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To: NormsRevenge
Boy, we're all on a hair trigger for science nonsense.

This appears to be an actual real article about some real actual science!

It's the sun's fault, not ours. So far, anyway.

20 posted on 08/27/2010 11:46:06 AM PDT by dead (I've got my eye out for Mullah Omar.)
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