Earth Atmosphere Will Inflate Like a Balloon

Bright Side

Scientists say Earth's atmosphere could "inflate" like a balloon as the planet heats up! When air warms, it expands, and this means the atmosphere could stretch farther into space. This might sound cool, but it could mess with satellites, causing them to slow down or go off track. This inflation is already happening a bit due to global warming, and experts think it could get worse if temperatures keep rising. The extra drag on satellites would make space missions harder and more expensive. It’s a reminder that even outer space feels the effects of what happens on Earth!  #brightside   Animation is created by Bright Side.  ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Music from TheSoul Sound: https://thesoul-sound.com/   Listen to Bright Side on:  Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/0hUkPxD34jRLrMrJux4VxV Apple Podcast - https://podcasts.apple.com/podcast/idhttps-podcasts-apple-com-podcast-bright-side/id1554898078 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Our Social Media: Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/brightside/ Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/brightside.official/ Tik Tok - https://www.tiktok.com/@brightside.official?lang=en Snapchat - https://www.snapchat.com/p/c6a1e38a-bff1-4a40-9731-2c8234ccb19f/1866144599336960  Stock materials (photos, footages and other):  https://www.depositphotos.com  https://www.shutterstock.com  https://www.eastnews.ru  ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- For more videos and articles visit: http://www.brightside.me

Transcript

00:00About a year back, something wild happened on Mars.

00:04Its magnetic shield and air around it expanded to about three times the usual size.

00:11Earth has experienced this ballooning before too.

00:14In 1999, it caused our magnetosphere to expand up to 100 times its usual size.

00:21And scientists are saying that Earth might experience it again soon,

00:25but on an even larger scale.

00:28The consequences of that could be catastrophic.

00:32Let's see why it happens and what might happen to us if that repeats.

00:37NASA's MAVEN orbiter has been orbiting Mars since 2014.

00:42It's the only spacecraft we have that keeps track of both the Sun and Mars.

00:48In 2022, on December 26th, it witnessed a fascinating show on the red planet.

00:54Mars' atmosphere and magnetic shield suddenly stretched out by thousands of miles.

01:00According to scientists, it's a unique, unbelievably dramatic event,

01:05and MAVEN was there to catch it all.

01:08Scientists tried to uncover this mystery.

01:10Digging into the event, they discovered something incredible.

01:14It turns out this air show was linked to the solar winds.

01:19Solar wind is the stream of particles coming from the Sun.

01:23It's a constant flow of protons and electrons from our star's outer atmosphere.

01:28Moving super fast, up to 500 miles per second,

01:32these charged particles travel through the solar system in a plasma state.

01:37Mars, like all other planets in our solar system, is always dealing with solar wind.

01:43Think of it like a breeze from the Sun.

01:45This wind pushes on Mars' magnetic shield, called magnetosphere,

01:50and is part of why Mars loses some of its atmosphere into space.

01:54Researchers found out that the weird expansion on Mars happened because there was a rare void in it.

02:01Faster solar wind caught up with slower solar wind, making them squeeze together.

02:06This created a gap in part of Mars' atmosphere because some solar wind was missing.

02:12This unusual situation caused Mars' magnetosphere to expand so rapidly.

02:18The Sun goes through a cycle about every 11 years.

02:22It jumps from low activity, or solar minimum, to high activity, or solar maximum.

02:27Then it jumps back.

02:29We noticed this way back in the 18th century, and we're currently on the 25th cycle.

02:35It's all because of the Sun's magnetic field.

02:38During solar minimum, the magnetic field is strong and organized.

02:42But over time, it weakens.

02:44Suddenly, solar activity jumps up.

02:47This creates solar winds, the Sun spewing jets of particles on the planets, including our Earth.

02:54In 1999, the solar wind nearly disappeared for three days.

02:59It will probably repeat again now.

03:01This time around, scientists believe it might hit us sooner and harder than expected.

03:07The Sun becomes quite lively, emitting fiery plasma, developing large dark spots and releasing powerful radiation.

03:15And, unfortunately, the upcoming solar maximum kind of caught us off guard.

03:21The storm was predicted for 2025, so scientists aren't very prepared.

03:27The number of sunspots observed has been way higher than anticipated.

03:31The Sun hit an 8-year sunspot peak in 2022, and then showed more than double the expected sunspots in 2023.

03:40It's not just them. Many solar flares have also been on the rise.

03:44In March, the geomagnetic storm lit up the skies with vibrant auroras across 30 U.S. states.

03:51It was the strongest storm in over six years.

03:55Many rare solar events have become more common recently.

03:59For example, a gigantic plasma waterfall, a polar vortex swirling around the Sun's north pole for hours,

04:07and a three-day solar tornado towering over 14 Earths.

04:12Because of all that, Earth faces some risks.

04:16Solar storms could hit our planet.

04:18It can mess with communications, damage power systems, and cause blackouts, and even pose threats to living beings.

04:25They can ionize Earth's atmosphere.

04:27This would mess with radio signals and GPS systems.

04:31Major disasters like earthquakes or tsunamis combined with such blackouts could lead to catastrophic outcomes.

04:38Additionally, strong solar storms may generate electrical currents that can damage infrastructure, including power grids and rail lines.

04:47Airplane passengers might experience higher radiation levels during solar storms.

04:51It's hard to tell what that would mean for their health.

04:54However, astronauts on spacecraft such as the International Space Station could face more significant risks.

05:02Future space missions will have to take solar cycles into account.

05:06We're not the only creatures in danger.

05:09These storms can disrupt the migration patterns of animals like gray whales, sea turtles, and birds.

05:15All these poor animals rely on Earth's magnetic field to understand what's going on.

05:21And as a cherry on top, there's a risk of satellite collisions.

05:26Commercial space companies are focused on launching satellites quickly rather than safely.

05:31Because of that, they often overlook the impact of space weather.

05:35During solar storms, the ionized upper atmosphere increases drag on Earth-orbiting satellites.

05:41If something goes wrong, satellites can be forced out of orbit and collide with us.

05:47The scariest solar storm that has ever happened to us was the Carrington event.

05:52In 1859, Earth experienced the most intense geomagnetic storm ever recorded.

05:58The sky lit up with vibrant auroras.

06:01They were visible from the North and South Poles to places like Cuba and Japan.

06:06The display was so bright in the United States that gold miners woke up thinking it was morning.

06:12It was caused by a massive solar flare.

06:15The auroras were breathtaking, but the impact was more than visual.

06:19It disrupted telegraph systems across Europe and North America.

06:23Telegraph pylons threw sparks, operators got electric shocks,

06:28and conversations were conducted using the auroral current instead of batteries.

06:33Similar storms occurred at least three times throughout history, with the same awful consequences.

06:40Scientists estimate the cost of such an event today could range from $600 billion to $2.6 trillion in the U.S. alone.

06:50Researchers continue to study historical events and ice core data to understand and prepare for the potential impacts of future solar storms.

07:00The Sun's behavior is very unpredictable, but this just shows that we need to study it in greater depth.

07:07The chance that this new coming storm will be the same as a superstorm like the Carrington event is low.

07:13Besides, if we spend this time preparing, it might go unnoticed.

07:18Preparation usually involves adjusting satellite trajectories, grounding planes, and identifying vulnerable infrastructure.

07:26Meanwhile, we keep exploring Mars. Its atmosphere is different from ours.

07:31Our atmosphere has breathable air, mostly consisting of nitrogen, oxygen, and a lot of other gases.

07:38Meanwhile, Mars has incredibly high CO2 levels.

07:42If on Earth, carbon dioxide doesn't even reach 1%, on Mars, it makes up about 90% of its atmosphere.

07:50Also, Earth's atmosphere is over 100 times denser than the one on Mars.

07:56Even though Mars is about half the size of Earth, its atmosphere is like a feather compared to our air.

08:02A long time ago, Mars could have been kind of Earth-like.

08:05We know that it definitely had water, and perhaps there were even some plants.

08:10If we added water on Mars now, plants could have grown up there.

08:14A long time ago, Mars was experiencing some serious volcanism, suggesting it had a thick atmosphere, and maybe even a giant ocean.

08:23We're not sure what happened to them, but there are some theories.

08:27For example, Mars has a magnetic field, but it's very weak, so solar winds could have stripped away its atmosphere.

08:34In the end, it became the chilly, dusty, red planet we know today.

08:39NASA's Perseverance rover celebrated its 1,000th day on the red planet with some amazing discoveries.

08:46The rover cruised through an ancient Martian river and lake system.

08:50It gathered 23 precious samples along the way.

08:53All of these samples will help us to unlock Mars' history and geological mysteries.

08:59Extreme events and conditions are horrifying, but great in a way that they help us to learn more about our solar system.

09:06Luckily, MAVEN was designed to be sturdy and prepared even for intense solar storms.

09:12So now we can find out more about Mars when it's stripped of its protectiveness.

09:22That's it for today.

09:23So hey, if you pacified your curiosity, then give the video a like and share it with your friends.

09:28Or if you want more, just click on these videos and stay on the Bright Side!

Category

Transcript

Recommended