Scientists have detected Earth’s ambipolar electric field for the first time
For the first time, scientists have successfully detected and measured an invisible electric field enveloping Earth. This field, known as the ambipolar field, was first theorised over 60 years ago and its discovery marks a significant advancement in our understanding of Earth’s atmospheric dynamics. Glyn Collinson, an astronomer at NASA‘s Goddard Space Flight Center, and his team have achieved this breakthrough, opening new avenues for studying how such fields influence planetary atmospheres and potentially shape other celestial bodies.
Understanding the Ambipolar Field
The ambipolar field was hypothesised to exist around 250 kilometres (155 miles) above Earth’s surface, within the ionosphere—a region of the atmosphere ionised by solar and ultraviolet radiation. This field emerges because of the interaction between negatively charged electrons and positively charged ions. When ultraviolet rays ionise atmospheric atoms, they create a mix of free electrons and ions. The ambipolar field acts to balance these particles, with electrons attempting to escape into space and ions pulling back towards Earth, creating a stabilising force.
How the Field Was Detected
The field was detected by the Endurance rocket, which was launched in May 2022. The rocket ascended to an altitude of 768.03 kilometres (477.23 miles) before returning to Earth with valuable data. The mission aimed to measure the faint electric potential changes associated with the ambipolar field. Despite the field’s weak strength, only a 0.55-volt change was detected, comparable to the charge of a watch battery. This minute measurement was sufficient to confirm the presence of the ambipolar field and its effects on the polar wind.
Significance of the Discovery
The ambipolar field plays a crucial role in regulating the atmosphere’s density and composition. It helps to control the altitude at which ions escape into space, impacting the overall atmospheric structure. The detection of this field provides insight into how Earth’s atmosphere maintains charge neutrality and how particles are transported away from the planet. It also affects the polar wind—an outflow of particles from the Earth’s atmosphere observed at the poles.
Implications for Future Research
While the immediate findings are promising, this discovery is just the beginning. The ambipolar field’s broader implications are still being explored. Researchers are keen to understand how long this field has been present, how it influences atmospheric evolution, and its potential impact on life on Earth. Glyn Collinson highlights that measuring this field allows scientists to pose new questions about Earth’s atmospheric processes and planetary science more broadly.
With this breakthrough, scientists can now delve deeper into the fundamental mechanisms that govern Earth’s atmosphere and potentially apply these insights to other planets with atmospheres. The ambipolar field’s discovery represents a significant step in planetary science, paving the way for future exploration and understanding of the forces shaping our world.
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A stunning solar eruption captured on video on the night of May 12-13 has revealed a 600,000-mile-long filament blasting away from the sun’s northern hemisphere. The outburst occurred around 8 p.m. EDT (0000 GMT) and spanned a distance more than twice that between Earth and the moon. A massive solar filament suspended above the sun’s surface became unstable and erupted, blasting a CME into space along with a cloud of plasma and magnetic energy. Preliminary models show Earth is nowhere in the firing range of this fiery ejection, but researchers are still watching the phenomenon closely.
Sun’s 600,000-Mile-Long ‘Angel-Wing’ Eruption Stuns Skywatchers, Signals Rising Solar Activity
As per the Space.com report, the eruption originated from a filament structure composed of dense, cooler solar plasma held aloft by magnetic fields. These structures often appear as dark ribbons across the sun’s disk and can become unstable without warning. Solar observers noted that this latest eruption dwarfed similar recent events, both in scale and intensity. Aurora chaser Jure Atanackov remarked that the CME from the blast was among the most spectacular seen this year, although fortunately, it is headed north and will miss Earth.
The event, dubbed the “angel-wing” or “bird-wing” eruption by observers online, was widely shared among solar watchers. Vincent Ledvina, another aurora chaser, noted its incredible visual impact, describing it as a sight worth watching on loop. The eruption is, in fact, so long, by more than a million kilometres, that it is of scientific interest and visually striking as well. Geomagnetic storms resulting from this kind of CME can affect satellites, communication systems, and even Earth.
Although it foreshadows the unpredictable nature of our host star, this particular CME does not pose a threat to Earth at the moment. Solar activity is ramping up as we approach the peak of Solar Cycle 25 in 2025. What’s more, more — and maybe more Earth-threatening — solar explosions could follow.
As a reminder of the formidable and delicate forces at play relatively close by on Earth, the sun remains a source of wonder for astronomers and skywatchers alike.
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Over 80 years, dark matter has been a great mystery for the researchers. Elusive of direct observation, it has made its existence known only by the gravitational impacts it makes on cosmic structures. Even though there is a lot of indirect evidence of its existence, the real nature of dark matter is still unknown. An important attribute of its particle is mass. While past studies have constrained the mass of fermionic dark matter using quantum principles like Pauli’s exclusion principle, bosonic dark matter remained less constrained. In a recent study, scientists have estimated a new lower bound on the mass of ultra-lightweight bosonic dark matter particles.
About the study
According to the study published in Physical Review Letters, the mass of ultralight bosonic dark matter must be more than 2 × 10-21 electron volts (eV), 100 times more than previous estimates using Heisenberg’s uncertainty principle.
The team of researchers, led by the first author of the study, Tim Zimmermann, a Ph.D. candidate at the Institute of Theoretical Astrophysics, University of Oslo, focused their method on the data of Leo II, the Milky Way’s satellite galaxy. It is a dwarf galaxy 1,000 times smaller than the Milky Way. By analyzing the internal motions of stars within Leo II—heavily influenced by dark matter—the team derived 5,000 possible dark matter density profiles using a tool called GRAVSPHERE.
They compared these with profiles generated by quantum wave functions of various dark matter particle masses. If the particle is too light, quantum fuzziness spreads it too thinly, preventing it from forming the observed structures. The study concluded that the dark matter particle must have a mass greater than 2.2 × 10⁻²¹ electron volts (eV)—over 100 times more than previous lower estimates.
Impact on dark matter studies
The findings have significant implications for popular ultralight dark matter models, particularly fuzzy dark matter, which typically proposes particles with masses around 10-22 ev.
Looking ahead, the team plans to extend their methodology to mixed dark matter scenarios, where dark matter is composed of particles with different masses.
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