NASA discovers mysterious X-shaped structures in Earth's upper atmosphere

Source: Earth.com
NASA's GOLD mission has made a discovery that is changing how scientists understand Earth's upper atmosphere. For the first time ever, GOLD has seen X-shaped patterns in the ionosphere—a layer of charged particles that stretches from about 50 to 400 miles above Earth's surface. These
X-shaped structures
were found during calm space weather, which is surprising because such patterns were thought to happen only during strong
solar storms
. The discovery, published in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics, could affect how we manage satellite communications, GPS signals, and space weather predictions.
The mystery behind the X-shaped structures discovered
Normally, the ionosphere has two bands of dense plasma on either side of the magnetic equator. According to IDR, these bands, called the Equatorial Ionization Anomaly (EIA), usually run parallel to each other like lanes on a road. But GOLD's new observations show that these plasma bands don't always stay in straight lines. Sometimes, they twist and merge to form X-shaped patterns.
Scientists used to think these X-shapes only appeared during geomagnetic storms caused by solar activity. However, GOLD's ultraviolet camera captured them even when space weather was calm. This unexpected finding raises new questions about what causes these shapes. As per the reports, scientist at the University of Colorado, Fazlul Laskar, who led the study, said it was surprising to see the X-shapes during quiet conditions.
Understanding the Ionosphere's behavior
The ionosphere is a very complex and changing part of Earth's atmosphere made up of charged particles. Before, scientists mainly studied how solar storms affected it, but now they see local factors might also be important. Jeffrey Klenzing, a NASA physicist, said the X-shapes show there are smaller, local forces at work.
NASA's computer models suggest that winds high in the atmosphere, just before sunset, push the plasma bands closer together. When these bands collide, they form the X-shape. Also, waves from lower in the atmosphere help disrupt the plasma. This means weather near Earth's surface can affect the ionosphere far above, impacting communication and GPS systems worldwide.
Why better space weather forecasting matters
We already know that solar storms cause the ionosphere to change unpredictably, disrupting signals. But GOLD's discovery shows it's more complicated. The X-shaped patterns happen even when the sun is quiet, meaning models that predict space weather need to consider more than just solar flares and storms. Since the X-shapes happen at night when the sun's influence is low, it points to winds and atmospheric tides as important drivers.
How X-shapes affect communication and navigation
Although these X-shaped patterns last only a few hours, they can cause big problems for
communication systems
like GPS. These disturbances can bend radio waves and cause errors in location data, which can affect things like farming equipment or military tools that rely on precise GPS.
Jeffrey Klenzing said the different shapes of plasma bubbles close together show that the ionosphere's behavior is more complicated than scientists thought. The X-shaped events usually happen after sunset and disappear by midnight but can cause major disruptions while they last. Karan, another researcher, warned that if strong winds or vortices form in the plasma, signals can be completely lost.
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