Scientists have first observed a hurricane in space high above the North Pole, which initially provides a glimpse of a phenomenon that scientists say could be in planets around the universe.
The sprawling hurricane was spotted by a team of scientists led by Shandong University in China, who analyzed satellite observations in August 2014 to construct a 3D image of the phenomenon in the Earth’s ionosphere, where the planet’s atmosphere emptiness of space meets.
What they found was a swirling mass of plasma that carried like the wind phenomenon seen on earth. But unlike the hurricanes that are observable on the planet, the spatial equivalent of electrons rained instead of water.
The space hurricane, which spread over 1,000 km above the North Pole, rotated counterclockwise like earth-bound hurricanes in the northern hemisphere and lasted nearly eight hours until it finally broke.
It has been found to have a quiet center, like its terrestrial counterparts, as well as multiple spiral arms and widespread circulation.
Such hurricanes are expected to be responsible for significant effects on weather conditions in space, such as increased satellite resistance, interference in high-frequency radio communications, and increased errors in radar over the horizon, satellite navigation, and communications systems.
According to a study published in the journal Nature communication, the process may also be important for the interaction between interstellar winds and other solar systems throughout the universe.
Space weather has been a particular focus since the 1950s due to the advent of satellite technology, with the first solar winds – or the flow of charged particles from the sun through the solar system – observed by the end of the decade.
Scientists believe that space hurricanes can also occur near other planets and moons with magnetic fields and plasma – the state of matter in which a gas becomes so hot that its atoms are divided into independent moving electrons and ions, which are easily affected by forces such as the pressure and pull of the earth’s magnetism.
Professor Mike Lockwood, Professor of Space Physics at the University of Reading, said: “Until now, it was uncertain that there was even a hurricane in space in space, so it’s amazing to see it with such a striking to prove observation.
‘Tropical storms are associated with large amounts of energy, and these spatial hurricanes must be created by extraordinarily large and rapid transfer of solar energy and charged particles to the earth’s upper atmosphere.
“Plasma and magnetic fields in the atmosphere of planets exist throughout the universe, so the findings suggest that hurricanes in space must be a widespread phenomenon.”
Additional reporting by agencies