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Clemson Rocket Launches Test Alaskan Auroras
Clemson SC (SPX) Mar 21, 2007 It may have been 40 degrees below zero at the Poker Flat Research Range in Alaska, but aurora and weather came together one recent winter night in a perfect match for Clemson University researchers and students who launched four rockets to study heat in the upper atmosphere. Four 30- to 40-foot-long NASA suborbital sounding rockets were launched into the night sky within a period of 16 minutes as part of the HEX 2 project, a collaborative effort between the University of Alaska at Fairbanks and Clemson. "We had absolutely ideal conditions for the launches," said Clemson physics professor Miguel Larsen. "We are interested in the auroral displays because they produce electrical currents that heat the atmosphere. Wind patterns become altered as the atmosphere heats up, and this can cause changes in satellite orbits and interference with radio communications." The rockets carried chemical tracer experiments from Larsen and instruments from Clemson assistant physics professor Gerald Lehmacher. At 60 miles above the ground, the chemical tracer glows and can be tracked as it is carried by winds high up in the atmosphere. The instruments measured the changes in atmospheric pressure created by the heat. The rocket range is located 30 miles north of Fairbanks. The data will be analyzed to yield a three-dimensional picture of the neutral winds and density changes that occur during auroral disturbances. Twelve undergraduate and four graduate students from Clemson participated in the NASA-funded study. Related Links Making money out of watching earth from space today Solar Science News at SpaceDaily Solar Science News at SpaceDaily
Themis Satellites Put Berkeley Physicist In Pole Position To Study Aurora Like Never Before
Cape Canaveral CA (SPX) Feb 20, 2007After a picture-perfect launch into clear, blue skies at 6:01 p.m. EST Saturday, Feb. 17, the five THEMIS probes are healthy and in their expected orbits, according to University of California, Berkeley, physicist and mission principal investigator Vassilis Angelopoulos. "Based on telemetry received by UC Berkeley's ground station, they look really good," he said. |
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