Space hurricane first confirmed at Earth’s North Pole

The existence of space hurricanes has been confirmed – for the first time, electrons have been observed “raining down in Earth’s upper atmosphere,” scientists say.

the Daily Mail reported that the announcement was made by a team led by Shandong University in China, “after analyzing a swirling mass of plasma 621 miles wide spotted hundreds of miles above the North Pole.” The teams study was published in Nature.

What did it look like?

the Daily mail said the study’s observations described it as “a large cyclone-shaped auroral spot with a near zero center of flow and strong circular horizontal plasma flow and shear, all of which are found in hurricanes in the lower atmosphere – but instead of raining, it rained electrons.

According to study, the space hurricane moved “counterclockwise and lasted about eight hours before collapsing,” the report mentionned.

GPS systems could be disrupted by such storms, scientists warn, but storms could also “provide insight into the effects of space weather.” report mentionned.

Professor Mike Lockwood, a space specialist at the University of Reading, England, said that “hurricanes could be a universal phenomenon on planets and moons with magnetic fields and plasma”.

the Daily mail quoted Lockwood, who said: “Until now, it was not certain that space plasma hurricanes even existed, so to prove it with such a vivid sighting is incredible.”

Lockwood added, “Tropical storms are associated with enormous amounts of energy, and these space hurricanes must be created by an unusually large and rapid transfer of solar wind energy and charged particles into the Earth’s upper atmosphere. ” He continued, “Plasma and magnetic fields in the atmosphere of planets exist throughout the universe, so the results suggest that space hurricanes should be a widespread phenomenon.”

A “calm center, multiple spiral arms, and widespread circulation” were characteristics that the space hurricane shared with those occurring in Earth’s lower atmosphere, the study find.

According to study, there have been previous observations of space hurricanes on Mars, Saturn, and Jupiter, “which are similar to hurricanes in the lower atmosphere, as well as solar gas that swirls deep in the sun’s atmosphere.”

However, the study revealed that “the latest discovery”, which was spotted on August 20, 2014, “is the first time that a hurricane has been observed in Earth’s upper atmosphere”, report mentionned.

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