The intensity of the Sun's magnetic field and solar wind have declined to a record low level.
On August 25, 1997, NASA launched the Advanced Composition Explorer (ACE) satellite on a mission to monitor energetic ions coming from the Sun, as well as higher energy particles (cosmic rays) thought to be arriving from intergalactic space.

ACE is in orbit around the L1 LaGrange point approximately 1,500,000 kilometers from Earth and will remain there until 2024. Scientists hope that data from the spacecraft's onboard sensors will help them understand how the Solar System formed, including how the solar magnetic field moderates incoming high-speed ions. Several research groups have been investigating a possible link between our climate and cosmic rays.

During periods of high activity, energetic pulses on the Sun eject charged particles in the billions of tons. They are normally slow moving, requiring about 24 hours to reach Earth. Known as Coronal Mass Ejections (CME), an indication of their arrival is an intensification of the aurorae.

Although the Sun is in a relatively quiescent state with few sunspots visible, it occasionally erupts with solar flares that can reach incredible velocities. As a matter of observation, they continue to accelerate as they move away from the Sun. What explains this counterintuitive process?

Sunlight reaches Earth in approximately eight minutes. A solar ejection arriving in 30 minutes must be moving at more than a quarter of the speed of light. In the consensus view, such velocities are a profound mystery, yet a gigantic CME was observed on January 17, 2005, that reached our planet in less than half an hour. How do CMEs accelerate to 75,000 kilometers per second or more?

Plasma physicist Tony Peratt wrote: “...electric fields aligned along the magnetic field direction freely accelerate particles. Electrons and ions are accelerated in opposite directions, giving rise to a current along the magnetic field lines.”

Rather than shock fronts or so-called "magnetic reconnection events," the solar wind receives its impetus from an electric field that emanates from the Sun in all directions. The easiest way for charged particles to accelerate is within such a field. The Sun's e-field extends for billions of kilometers, ending at the heliospheric boundary, which the twin Voyager spacecraft are just now beginning to penetrate.

The "mysterious" acceleration of positively charged solar wind particles is an electrical phenomenon that is predicted by the Electric Sun model.

Solar flares are labeled C, M, or X: light, medium, or powerful. The January 17 CME was rated X3. However, on September 7, 2005, an X17 CME impacted Earth's magnetosphere, knocking out radio transmissions and overloading power station transformers. A veritable cosmic tornado of positive ions poured into the electrically charged environment of our planet.

Is it a coincidence that hurricanes Katrina and Rita occurred on either side of the second largest X-flare ever recorded?

In 1997, Henrik Svensmark and Eigil Fris-Christensen published "Variation of Cosmic Ray Flux and Global Cloud Coverage – a Missing Link in Solar–Climate Relationships" in which they argue for the Sun's mediating influence on Earth's climate. Essentially, the greater the number of high-energy ions that enter our magnetic field, the greater will be the cloud cover.

When the Sun enters a quiet phase in its 22 year cycle, more charged particles are able to reach Earth because the solar magnetic field is not strong enough to deflect them. As they encounter our watery atmosphere, they cause clouds to form. Similar to an old-fashioned cloud chamber, when fast moving ions fly through a region of high humidity a track of condensation appears. It was those threads of tiny droplets that were once used to monitor subatomic particles produced by linear accelerators or "atom-smashers."

Mike Lockwood and Claus Fröhlich issued a paper in 2007 that contradicted any idea of a heliocentric influence on cloud cover. Although they acknowledge that it might have had a small effect in the past, they assert that humanity's industrial activity is so great that it overshadows a solar connection. Of course, they completely ignore the role of electricity in space and contend for purely mechanistic and chemical interactions.

To Electric Universe theorists, the relationship between incoming high-speed protons from CMEs and increased storm activity, coupled with the analysis offered by Svensmark and Fris-Christensen, is not coincidental. Since water is a dipolar molecule, the fact that ions attract water vapor seems indisputable.

Stephen Smith

www.thunderbolts.info

Ecoalert: Pacific El Nino Growing More Intense

A new type of El Niño, which has its warmest waters in the central- equatorial Pacific Ocean, rather than in the eastern-equatorial Pacific, is becoming more common and progressively stronger, according to a new study by NASA and NOAA. The research may improve our understanding of the relationship between El Niños and climate change.

El Niño, Spanish for “the little boy,” is the oceanic component of a climate pattern called the El Niño Southern Oscillation, which appears in the tropical Pacific Ocean on average every three to five years. The most dominant year-to-year fluctuating pattern in Earth’s climate system, El Niños have a powerful impact on the ocean and atmosphere, as well as important socioeconomic consequences.They can influence global weather patterns and the occurrence and frequency of hurricanes, droughts and floods; and can even raise or lower global temperatures by as much as 0.2 degrees Celsius (0.4 degrees Fahrenheit).

During a “classic” El Niño episode, the normally strong easterly trade winds in the tropical eastern Pacific weaken. That weakening suppresses the normal upward movement of cold subsurface waters and allows warm surface water from the central Pacific to shift toward the Americas. In these situations, unusually warm surface water occupies much of the tropical Pacific, with the maximum ocean warming remaining in the eastern-equatorial Pacific

Lead author Tong Lee of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., and Michael McPhaden of NOAA’s Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory, Seattle, measured changes in El Niño intensity since 1982. They analyzed NOAA satellite observations of sea surface temperature, checked against and blended with directly-measured ocean temperature data. The strength of each El Niño was gauged by how much its sea surface temperatures deviated from the average. They found the intensity of El Niños in the central Pacific has nearly doubled, with the most intense event occurring in 2009-10.

The scientists say the stronger El Niños help explain a steady rise in central Pacific sea surface temperatures observed over the past few decades in previous studies—a trend attributed by some who aren't Republican office seekers to the effects of global warming. While Lee and McPhaden observed a rise in sea surface temperatures during El Niño years, no significant temperature increases were seen in years when ocean conditions were neutral, or when El Niño’s cool water counterpart, La Niña, was present.

“Our study concludes the long-term warming trend seen in the central Pacific is primarily due to more intense El Niños, rather than a general rise of background temperatures,” said Lee. “These results suggest climate change may already be affecting El Niño by shifting the center of action from the eastern to the central Pacific,” said McPhaden. “El Niño’s impact on global weather patterns is different if ocean warming occurs primarily in the central Pacific, instead of the eastern Pacific.

“If the trend we observe continues,” McPhaden added, “it could throw a monkey wrench into long- range weather forecasting, which is largely based on our understanding of El Niños from the latter half of the 20th century.”

Since the early 1990s, scientists have noted a new type of El Niño that has been occurring with greater frequency. Known variously as “central-Pacific El Niño,” “warm-pool El Niño,” “dateline El Niño” or “El Niño Modoki” (Japanese for “similar but different”), the maximum ocean warming from such El Niños is found in the central-equatorial, rather than eastern, Pacific. Such central Pacific El Niño events were observed in 1991-92, 1994-95, 2002-03, 2004-05 and 2009-10. A recent study found many climate models predict such events will become much more frequent under projected global warming scenarios.

Lee said further research is needed to evaluate the impacts of these increasingly intense El Niños and determine why these changes are occurring. “It is important to know if the increasing intensity and frequency of these central Pacific El Niños are due to natural variations in climate or to climate change caused by human-produced greenhouse gas emissions,” he said.

Casey Kazan via NOAA

Originally posted at: www.dailygalaxy.com

Our Sun: Source Of Life Or Orb Of Death?

By
Wele Gwir

The Sun is the most prominent feature in our solar system. It is the largest object and contains approximately 98% of the total solar system mass. One hundred and nine Earths would be required to fit across the Sun's disk, and its interior could hold over 1.3 million Earths. The Sun's outer visible layer is called the photosphere and has a temperature of 6,000°C (11,000°F). This layer has a mottled appearance due to the turbulent eruptions of energy at the surface.

Solar energy is created deep within the core of the Sun. It is here that the temperature (15,000,000° C; 27,000,000° F) and pressure (340 billion times Earth's air pressure at sea level) is so intense that nuclear reactions take place. This reaction causes four protons or hydrogen nuclei to fuse together to form one alpha particle or helium nucleus. The alpha particle is about .7 percent less massive than the four protons. The difference in mass is expelled as energy and is carried to the surface of the Sun, through a process known as convection, where it is released as light and heat. Energy generated in the Sun's core takes a million years to reach its surface. Every second 700 million tons of hydrogen are converted into helium ashes. In the process 5 million tons of pure energy is released; therefore, as time goes on the Sun is becoming lighter.

The chromosphere is above the photosphere. Solar energy passes through this region on its way out from the center of the Sun. Faculae and flares arise in the chromosphere. Faculae are bright luminous hydrogen clouds which form above regions where sunspots are about to form. Flares are bright filaments of hot gas emerging from sunspot regions. Sunspots are dark depressions on the photosphere with a typical temperature of 4,000°C (7,000°F).

The corona is the outer part of the Sun's atmosphere. It is in this region that prominences appears. Prominences are immense clouds of glowing gas that erupt from the upper chromosphere. The outer region of the corona stretches far into space and consists of particles traveling slowly away from the Sun. The corona can only be seen during total solar eclipses.

The Sun appears to have been active for 4.6 billion years and has enough fuel to go on for another five billion years or so. At the end of its life, the Sun will start to fuse helium into heavier elements and begin to swell up, ultimately growing so large that it will swallow the Earth. After a billion years as a red giant, it will suddenly collapse into a white dwarf -- the final end product of a star like ours. It may take a trillion years to cool off completely.

Sun Statistics
Mass (kg) 1.989e+30
Mass (Earth = 1) 332,830
Equatorial radius (km) 695,000
Equatorial radius (Earth = 1) 108.97
Mean density (gm/cm^3) 1.410
Rotational period (days) 25-36*
Escape velocity (km/sec) 618.02
Luminosity (ergs/sec) 3.827e33
Magnitude (Vo) -26.8
Mean surface temperature 6,000°C
Age (billion years) 4.5
Principal chemistry
Hydrogen
Helium
Oxygen
Carbon
Nitrogen
Neon
Iron
Silicon
Magnesium
Sulfur
All others
92.1%
7.8%
0.061%
0.030%
0.0084%
0.0076%
0.0037%
0.0031%
0.0024%
0.0015%
0.0015%
• The Sun's period of rotation at the surface varies from approximately 25 days at the equator to 36 days at the poles. Deep down, below the convective zone, everything appears to rotate with a period of 27 days. (www.solarviews.com)


Can The Sun Hurt Us?

Prolonged exposure to the sun’s rays can result in mild to severe burning of the top layers of the skin.

A sunburn is a burn to living tissue, such as skin, which is produced by overexposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation, commonly from the sun's rays. Usual mild symptoms in humans and animals include red or reddish skin that is hot to the touch, general fatigue, and mild dizziness. An excess of UV radiation can be life-threatening in extreme cases. Exposure of the skin to lesser amounts of UV radiation will often produce a suntan.

Excessive UV radiation is the leading cause of primarily non-malignant skin tumors.[1][2] Sunscreen is widely agreed to prevent sunburn, although some scientists argue that it may not effectively protect against malignant melanoma, which is either caused by a different part of the ultraviolet spectrum or is not caused by sun exposure at all.[3][4] Clothing, including hats, is considered the preferred skin protection method. Moderate sun tanning without burning can also prevent subsequent sunburn, as it increases the amount of melanin, a skin photoprotectant pigment that is the skin's natural defense against overexposure. Importantly, both sunburn and the increase in melanin production are triggered by direct DNA damage. When the skin cells' DNA is damaged by UV radiation, type I cell-death is triggered and the skin is replaced.[5] Malignant melanoma may occur as a result of indirect DNA damage if the damage is not properly repaired. Proper repair occurs in the majority of DNA damage, and as a result not every exposure to UV results in cancer. The only cure for sunburn is slow healing, although some skin creams can help with the symptoms.(Wikipedia)
There has been continuous controversy over the use of sunscreens. Some say that these creams can help prevent skin cancer; others say they block the absorption of Vitamin D. Can this vitamin prevent cancer? Here is what Wikipedia has to say:

Cancer The molecular basis for thinking vitamin D has the potential to prevent cancer lies in its role in a wide range of cellular mechanisms central to the development of cancer.[104] These effects may be mediated through vitamin D receptors expressed in cancer cells.[22] Polymorphisms of the vitamin D receptor (VDR) gene have been associated with an increased risk of breast cancer.[105] Women with mutations in the VDR gene had an increased risk of breast cancer.[106]
A 2006 study using data on over 4 million cancer patients from 13 different countries showed a marked increase in some cancer risks in countries with less sun and another metastudy found correlations between vitamin D levels and cancer. The authors suggested that intake of an additional 1,000 international units (IU) (or 25 micrograms) of vitamin D daily reduced an individual's colon cancer risk by 50%, and breast and ovarian cancer risks by 30%.[107][108][109][110] Low levels of vitamin D in serum have been correlated with breast cancer disease progression and bone metastases.[105] However, the vitamin D levels of a population do not depend on the solar irradiance to which they are exposed.[111][112][113][114] Moreover, there are genetic factors involved with cancer incidence and mortality which are more common in northern latitudes.[115][116]

A 2006 study found that taking the U.S. RDA of vitamin D (400 IU per day) cut the risk of pancreatic cancer by 43% in a sample of more than 120,000 people from two long-term health surveys.[117][118] However, in male smokers a 3-fold increased risk for pancreatic cancer in the highest compared to lowest quintile of serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentration has been found.[119]

A randomized intervention study involving 1,200 women, published in June 2007, reports that vitamin D supplementation (1,100 international units (IU)/day) resulted in a 60% reduction in cancer incidence, during a four-year clinical trial, rising to a 77% reduction for cancers diagnosed after the first year (and therefore excluding those cancers more likely to have originated prior to the vitamin D intervention).[120][121] Although the study was criticized on several grounds[122] including failing to take into account a long term overall increase in cancer found in a another study of vitamin D intake[123] in 2007 the Canadian Cancer Society, (a national community-based organization of volunteers) recommended that all adults begin taking 1,000 IU per day (five times more than the government says they need) .[124][125] A US National Cancer Institute study analyzed data from the third national Health and Nutrition Examination Survey to examine the relationship between levels of circulating vitamin D in the blood and cancer mortality in a group of 16,818 participants aged 17 and older. It found no support for an association between 25(OH)D and total cancer mortality. However, the study did find that "[c]olorectal cancer mortality was inversely related to serum 25(OH)D level, with levels 80 nmol/L or higher associated with a 72% risk reduction (95% confidence interval = 32% to 89%) compared with lower than 50 nmol/L, Ptrend = .02."[126] Unlike other studies, this one was carried out prospectively — meaning that participants were followed looking forward — and the researchers used actual blood tests to measure the amount of vitamin D in blood, rather than trying to infer vitamin D levels from potentially inaccurate predictive models.[114][127] (Wikipedia)

Our ancient ancestors used to worship the sun as a source of life-giving light and power. They knew, as we do now, that it can kill if not balanced by life enhancing rain. The rainbow could be, perhaps, the symbol of this balance. Today this most brilliant star in our heavens continues to be misunderstood. Constant bickering over its effects on the climate, health and well-being of the inhabitants of this planet will rage for years to come. A healthy respect, not fear, for the sun is needed if our future generations are to benefit from our study and understanding of this mysterious and glowing orb.

DANGER!!!!!! RADIATION!!!! BEWARE!!!!!

By Wele Gwir

What is radiation? Is it dangerous? Deadly? Desirable? Can we stop it? Do we need it? Can we avoid it?

This article will attempt to explain, in the simplest terms, what it is, where it comes from and how we use it to enhance the quality of life without destroying it.


In physics, radiation describes any process in which energy travels through a medium or through space, ultimately to be absorbed by another body. Non-physicists often associate the word ionizing radiation (e.g., as occurring in nuclear weapons, nuclear reactors, and radioactive substances), but it can also refer to electromagnetic radiation (i.e., radio waves, infrared light, visible light, ultraviolet light, and X-rays) which can also be ionizing radiation, to acoustic radiation, or to other more obscure processes. What makes it radiation is that the energy radiates (i.e., it travels outward in straight lines in all directions) from the source. This geometry naturally leads to a system of measurements nd physical units that are equally applicable to all types of radiation.

Ionizing radiation

Some types of radiation have enough energy to ionize particles. Generally, this involves an electron being 'knocked out' of an atom's electron shells, which will give it a (positive) charge. This is often disruptive in biological systems, and can cause mutations and cancer.

These types of radiation generally occur in radioactive decay and waste.
The three main types of radiation were discovered by Ernest Rutherford, The Alpha, Beta, and Gamma rays. They were found through simple experimentation, Rutherford used a radioactive source and found out that the rays produce hit three different areas. One of them being the positive, one of them being neutral, and one of them being negative. He figured out the charges by the place they hit. Using this data, Rutherford concluded that radiation consisted of three rays. He named them after the first three letters of the Greek alphabet alpha, beta, and gamma.

Alpha radiation

Alpha (α) decay is a method of decay in large nuclei. An alpha particle (helium nucleus, He2+), consisting of 2 neutrons and 2 protons, is emitted. Because of the particle's relatively high charge, it is heavily ionizing and will cause severe damage if ingested. However, due to the high mass of the particle, it has little energy and a low range; typically, alpha particles can be stopped with a sheet of paper (or skin).

Beta(+/-) radiation

Beta-minus (β-) radiation consists of an energetic electron. It is less ionizing than alpha radiation, but more than gamma. The electrons can often be stopped with a few centimeters of metal. It occurs when a neutron decays into a proton in a nucleus, releasing the beta particle and an antineutrino.
Beta-plus (β+) radiation is the emission of positrons. Because these are antimatter particles, they annihilate any matter nearby, releasing gamma photons.

Gamma radiation

Gamma (γ) radiation consists of photons with a frequency of greater than 1019 Hz[1]. Gamma radiation occurs to rid the decaying nucleus of excess energy after it has emitted either alpha or beta radiation. Both alpha and beta particles have an electric charge and mass, and thus are quite likely to interact with other atoms in their path. Gamma radiation is comprised of photons, and photons have neither mass nor electric charge. Gamma radiation penetrates much further through matter than either alpha or beta radiation.

Non-ionizing radiation

Non-ionizing (or non-ionising) radiation, by contrast, refers to any type of radiation that does not carry enough energy per photon to ionize atoms or molecules. It especially refers to the lower energy forms of electromagnetic radiation (i.e., radio waves, microwaves, terahertz radiation, infrared light, and visible light). The effects of these forms of radiation on living tissue have only recently been studied. Instead of producing charged ions when passing through matter, the electromagnetic radiation has sufficient energy to change only the rotational, vibrational or electronic valence configurations of molecules and atoms. Nevertheless, different biological effects are observed for different types of non-ionizing radiation.[1][2]

Neutron radiation

Neutron radiation is a kind of non-ionizing radiation that consists of free neutrons. These neutrons may be emitted during either spontaneous or induced nuclear fission, nuclear fusion processes, or from other nuclear reactions. It does not ionize atoms in the same way that charged particles such as protons and electrons do (exciting an electron), because neutrons have no charge. However, neutrons readily react with the atomic nuclei of many elements, creating unstable isotopes and therefore inducing radioactivity in a previously non-radioactive material. This process is known as neutron activation.

Electromagnetic radiation

Electromagnetic radiation (sometimes abbreviated EMR) takes the form of self-propagating waves in a vacuum or in matter. EM radiation has an electric and magnetic field component which oscillate in phase perpendicular to each other and to the direction of energy propagation. Electromagnetic radiation is classified into types according to the frequency of the wave, these types include (in order of increasing frequency): radio waves, microwaves, terahertz radiation, infrared radiation, visible light, ultraviolet radiation, X-rays and gamma rays. Of these, radio waves have the longest wavelengths and Gamma rays have the shortest. A small window of frequencies, called visible spectrum or light, is sensed by the eye of various organisms, with variations of the limits of this narrow spectrum. EM radiation carries energy and momentum, which may be imparted when it interacts with matter.


The electromagnetic spectrum

The electromagnetic spectrum is the range of all possible electromagnetic radiation frequencies.[1] The electromagnetic spectrum (usually just spectrum) of an object is the characteristic distribution of electromagnetic radiation emitted by, or absorbed by, that particular object.

Light
Main article: Light
Light, or visible light, is electromagnetic radiation of a wavelength that is visible to the human eye (about 400–700 nm), or up to 380–750 nm.[1] More broadly, physicists refer to light as electromagnetic radiation of all wavelengths, whether visible or not.

Thermal radiation

Thermal radiation is the process by which the surface of an object radiates its thermal energy in the form of electromagnetic waves. Infrared radiation from a common household radiator or electric heater is an example of thermal radiation, as is the heat and light (IR and visible EM waves) emitted by a glowing incandescent light bulb. Thermal radiation is generated when heat from the movement of charged particles within atoms is converted to electromagnetic radiation. The emitted wave frequency of the thermal radiation is a probability distribution depending only on temperature, and for a genuine black body is given by Planck’s law of radiation. Wien's law gives the most likely frequency of the emitted radiation, and the Stefan–Boltzmann law gives the heat intensity.

Black-body radiation
Black-body radiation is a common synonym for thermal radiation (see above). It is so-called because the ideal radiator of thermal energy would also be an ideal absorber of thermal energy: It would not reflect any light, and thus would appear, at cooler temperatures, to be absolutely black. (Wikipedia on line)

Radiation has many uses in the fields of medicine and science. These modern advances in the application of various forms of radiation, have enable us to destroy cancer cells, date our history and enhance our communications.

Radiation and radioactive substances are used for diagnosis, treatment, and research. X rays, for example, pass through muscles and other soft tissue but are stopped by dense materials. This property of X rays enables doctors to find broken bones and to locate cancers that might be growing in the body. Doctors also find certain diseases by injecting radioactive substance and monitoring the radiation given off as the substance moves through the body.

In Communication
All modern communication systems use forms of electromagnetic radiation. Variations in the intensity of the radiation represent changes in the sound, pictures, or other information being transmitted. For example, a human voice can be sent as a radio wave or microwave by making the wave vary to correspond variations in the voice.

In Science
Researchers use radioactive atoms to determine the age of materials that were once part of a living organism. The age of such materials can be estimated by measuring the amount of radioactive carbon they contain in a process called radiocarbon dating. Environmental scientists use radioactive atoms known as tracer atoms to identify the pathways taken by pollutants through the environment.
Radiation is used to determine the composition of materials in a process called neutron activation analysis. In this process, scientists bombard a sample of a substance with particles called neutrons. Some of the atoms in the sample absorb neutrons and become radioactive. The scientists can identify the elements in the sample by studying the radiation given off.(Wikipedia)

In our next article we will discuss the most common form of radiation we are all familiar with: Our Sun.