Irish Radio observatory finds link: solar storms and radio bursts

New research by scientists at Trinity College Dublin, University College London, and the University of Hawai'i, published online in Nature Physics, has shown for the first time a direct link between solar storms, shock waves and solar radio bursts.

The Sun gives light and heat that makes life possible on Earth.

It can, however, have more sinister effects, sometimes unleashing huge eruptions of hot gas, called solar storms, which carry billions of tons of matter travelling at millions of kilometres an hour in Earth's direction.

These storms can be accompanied by solar radio bursts, which can cause damaging effects on many of the technologies that we rely on in our everyday lives.

Eoin Carley

"Radio bursts from solar storms can have adverse effects on both satellite and terrestrial communications. In fact, mobile phone networks can experience increased dropped-calls during periods of increased solar activity," said Eoin Carley, Irish Research Council PhD student at the School of Physics, Trinity College Dublin and first author on a recent paper on this topic in Nature Physics.

Despite decades of study, the link between solar storms and solar radio bursts has remained unclear.

This led Professor Peter Gallagher, a solar physicist at Trinity's School of Physics, to establish a radio observatory at Birr Castle in the midlands of Ireland to monitor solar radio bursts.

"What we have found is fascinating – a real insight into how solar radio bursts are created", said Professor Gallagher.

"Using antennas at Trinity's Rosse Observatory in Birr Castle together with images from NASA's STEREO and Solar Dynamics Observatory spacecraft, we have identified a missing link between solar storms and radio bursts."

Birr Castle Observatory

The findings, which were published online this week in Nature Physics, show that solar storms create huge shock waves that race through the solar atmosphere at millions of kilometres per hours.

As they do, they can accelerate electrons to huge energies, which then produce radio waves.

"Our results not only give an insight into the fundamental physics of explosions on the Sun, but enable us to better understand how the Sun affects the Earth and potentially its impacts on our daily lives" according to Carley.

Scientist Conquers Antarctica with Super-Tiger Air Balloon

The Super Tiger Balloon getting ready for its release at McMurdo ice station Antarctica.

Dr. John E Ward, an Astrophysicist at Washington University, St. Louis, Missouri, has been in Antarctica since October getting ready for the record attempt.

Dr. Ward is part of a NASA research project called Super-TIGER (Super Trans-Iron Galactic Element Recorder), a two-ton machine that collects cosmic-ray particles at the top of the atmosphere.

Although cosmic rays were discovered over 100 years ago, physicists are still uncertain about where in the Universe they originate.

Dr. Ward and his team are trying to show that cosmic rays come from cosmic explosions within groups of enormous hot stars, known as OB associations.

The Super-TIGER instrument is about the size of a snooker table and weighs in at around two tons.

It was launched from the Ross Ice Shelf, Antarctica on a NASA high-altitude balloon on the 9th December 2012.

The balloon itself is massive, weighing some 5,000 lbs. It is made of plastic and is a little thicker than cling film.

An image of the two and a quarter turns taken around the South Pole by the Super Tiger

The balloon has circled the South Pole twice, at an altitude of around 130,000 feet.

So far the team have collected over 50 million cosmic-ray particles.

This morning Dr. Ward’s balloon flight surpassed the previous record of 42 days, set in 2004 by an Irish man, Jojo Boyle from Donegal, with the CREAM cosmic-ray project.

It is expected that Dr. Ward’s balloon will stay in the air for another 10-14 days.

When the balloon is back close to McMurdo Station, it will be brought down by a remote controlled explosion triggered from a NASA satellite that will rip a massive hole in the balloon and allow the Super-TIGER instrument to fall back to Earth on a parachute.

Dr. Ward will then fly in a small Twin Otter ski plane to whereever in Antarctica that the parachute lands.

His first job will be to secure the valuable data disks before dismantling and recovering the two ton instrument. Dr. Ward is expected to leave Antarctica at the close of the summer season in February 2013.