Taking a Spin on Plasma Space Tornadoes with NASA Observations
nasa·@nasavishal·
0.000 HBDTaking a Spin on Plasma Space Tornadoes with NASA Observations
<html> <p><img src="https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/3dmixingsurface.gif"/></p> <p> </p> <p><img src="https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/khwavesclouds_0.jpg"/></p> <p><strong> Interplanetary space is hardly tranquil. High-energy charged particles from the Sun, as well as from beyond our solar system, constantly whizz by. These can damage satellites and endanger astronaut health — though, luckily for life on Earth, the planet is blanketed by a protective magnetic bubble created by its magnetic field. This bubble, called the magnetosphere, deflects most of the harmful high-energy particles.Nevertheless, some sneak through — and at the forefront of figuring out just how this happens is NASA’s Magnetospheric Multiscale mission, or MMS. New results show that tornado-like swirls of space plasma create a boundary tumultuous enough to let particles slip into near Earth space. </strong></p> <p><em>This simulation of the boundary shows how areas of low density plasma, shown by blue, mix with areas of higher density plasma, red, forming turbulent tornadoes of plasma.</em></p> <p><em><strong>Credits: NASA/Takuma Nakamura</strong></em></p> </html>