Earth’s Magnetic Field Sounds Off

Earth’s Magnetic Field Sounds Off

Earth’s Magnetic Field, Image/ESA

Magnetic signals measured by the European Space Agency’s Swarm satellite mission recently have been converted into sound and the results are phenomenal:

“Despite being essential to life on Earth, the magnetic field isn’t something we can actually see in itself, or ever hear. But, remarkably, scientists at the Technical University of Denmark have taken magnetic signals measured by ESA’s Swarm satellite mission and converted them into sound – and for something that protects us, the result is pretty scary.”

European Space Agency · The scary sound of Earth’s magnetic field

ESA’s trio of Swarm satellites, launched in 2013, are being used to understand exactly how our magnetic field generated by measuring the magnetic signals which emanate from the Earth’s core, mantle, crust and oceans, and the ionosphere and magnetosphere- something that protects us:

“Earth’s magnetic field is a complex and dynamic bubble that keeps us safe from cosmic radiation and charged particles carried by powerful winds flowing from the Sun. When these particles collide with atoms and molecules – mainly oxygen and nitrogen – in the upper atmosphere, some of the energy in the collisions is transformed into the green-blue light that is typical of the aurora borealis, which can sometimes be seen from high-northern latitudes.”

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