Moderate geomagnetic storms and their ionospheric effects at middle and low latitudes

This paper reports the global response of the mid high and low latitude ionosphere in four longitudinal sectors to two moderate geomagnetic storms that occurred during 2007 (the more intense storms occurred that year). The results obtained during these storms show that the ionospheric effects in general are not moderate in magnitude, showing an important degree of complexity as during intense storms. The outstanding features produced during the storms are significant positive storm effects at mid-high latitudes during the main phase/first part of the recovery, positive effects after the onset of the storm followed by negatives effects at middle latitudes and delayed positive effects during the night-time hours in the trough of the equatorial anomaly (“dusk” effect). Possible physical mechanisms for controlling the morphology of the ionosphere during these events are considered.     

Interpretation of hard X-ray images during the impulsive phase of a limb flare

We show that the observations of a limb flare, in which a hard X-ray (16–30 keV) source is seen at the boundary between two interacting magnetic structures, indicate the presence of hot (T ? 6 × 10⁷ K) plasma within the region. Non thermal bremsstrahlung processes do not agree with these observations. We discuss the possible causes of the heating.     

Estimation of the soil composition by IR observation of the Earth by satellites

A number of missions are in progress for Earth resources satellites to perform soil diagnosis by observing the bare soil thermal response to the heat input from the surrounding atmosphere. Heat capacity missions (and similar missions) are accomplished by measuring the soil temperature at the times of the satellite passes over the soil site.The models which are usually adopted assume that, for atmospheric conditions periodically changing during the day, the surface temperature time dependence is a function of the soil thermal inertia alone (for a dry soil).The present author has shown elsewhere that a more appropriate, two dimensional finite element modelling of the thermal behaviour of the soil, exhibits a dependence of the surface temperature time evolution on both the thermal conductivity (k) and on the volume heat capacity (?c) (for no evaporation at the interface). At least two independent temperature measurements are necessary in order to get information about k and ?c. It is shown that, within the range of values of k and ?c of the usual soils, temperature measurements taken at two successive satellite passes may yield the necessary information on the soil thermophysical properties. Charts can be constructed which will provide information on k and ?c when two soil temperatures are measured at proper times.     

Some effects in the upper atmosphere during geomagnetic storms

This paper examines the response of the high latitude ionosphere–thermosphere system during two intense geomagnetic storms. For that, data taken by instruments on board Dynamic Explorer 2 taken at heights of the F2-layer are used. These results represent a comparison of simultaneous measurements of storm disturbances in gas composition, electron density and temperature in common local time sectors. Documented are an increase in electron temperature and a decrease in electron density; increases both in electron temperature and electron density; and the correlation between electron density decreases and increases in the ratio N₂/O. It is noticed that the decrease in electron density is sometimes due to an increase in the molecular nitrogen density N₂ and not always is attributed both to the increase in N₂ density and the simultaneous decrease in the atomic oxygen density.     

A 12 years brazilian space education activity experience

A multidisciplinary group of students from the university and latter also from the high school was formed in 1988 with the objective to make them put in practice their knowledge in physics, chemistry and mathematics and engineering fields in experimental rocketry. The group was called “Grupo de Foguetes Experimentais”, GFE.Since that time more than 150 students passed throw the group and now many of them are in the space arena.The benefits for students in a space hands-on project are many:

1. More interest in their school subjects is gotten as they see an application for them;

2. Interrelation attitudes are learned as space projects is a team activity;

3. Responsibility is gained as each is responsible for a part of a critical mission project;

4. Multidisciplinary and international experience is gotten as these are space project characteristics;

5. Learn how to work in a high stress environment as use to be a project launch.

This paper will cover the educational experiences gotten during these years and how some structured groups work. It is explained the objectives and how the group was formed. The group structure and the different phases that at each year the new team passes are described. It is shown the different activities that the group uses to do from scientific seminars, scientific club and international meetings to technical tours and assistance to rocket activities in regional schools.It is also explained the group outreach activities as some launches were covered by the media in more then 6 articles in newspaper and 7 television news.In 1999 as formed an official group called NATA, Núcleo de Atividades Aerospaciais within the Universidade Estadual de Londrina, UEL, by some GFE members and teachers from university. It is explained the first group project results.     

A model for the chemical evolution of the solar neighborhood using metallicity dependent yields

We discuss the results from a chemical evolution model of the local galactic disk which takes into account stellar yields, lifetimes, remnants, and supernova progenitor masses which depend on the initial metallicity of the collapsing clouds. The detailed evolution of H, He, C, O, Fe, and of the heavy elements (Z) is followed dropping the instantaneous recycling approximation. Our results reproduce the majority of the observational constraints.     

Dynamical characterization of the last prolonged solar minima

The planetary hypothesis of the solar cycle is an old idea in which the gravitational influence of the planets has a non-negligible effect on the causes of the solar magnetic cycle. The advance of this hypothesis is based on phenomenological correlations between dynamical parameters of the Sun’s movement around the barycentre of the Solar System and sunspots time series; and more especially, identifying relationships linking solar barycentric dynamics with prolonged minima (especially Grand Minima events). However, at present there is no clear physical mechanism relating these phenomena. The possible celestial influence on solar cycle modulation is of great importance not only in solar physics but also in Earth sciences, because prolonged solar minima have associated important climatic and telluric variations, in particular, during the Maunder and Dalton Minimum. In this work we looked for a possible causal link in relation with solar barycentric dynamics and prolonged minima events. We searched for particular changes in the Sun’s acceleration and concentrated on long-term variations of the solar cycle. We show how the orbital angular momentum of the Sun evolves and how the inclination of the solar barycentric orbit varies during the epochs of orbital retrogressions. In particular, at these moments, the radial component of the Sun’s acceleration (i.e., in the barycentre-Sun direction) had an exceptional magnitude. These radial impulses occurred at the very beginning of the Maunder Minimum, during the Dalton Minimum and also at the maximum of cycle 22 before the present extended minimum. We also found a strong correlation between the planetary torque and the observed sunspots international number around that maximum. We apply our results in a novel theory of Sun–planets interaction that it is sensitive to Sun barycentric dynamics and found a very important effect on the Sun’s capability of storing hypothetical reservoirs of potential energy that could be released by internal flows and might be related to the solar cycle. This process begins about 40 years before the solar angular momentum inversions, i.e., before Maunder Minimum, Dalton Minimum, and before the present extended minimum. Our conclusions suggest a dynamical characterization of peculiar prolonged solar minima. We discuss the possible implications of these results for the solar cycle including the present extended minimum.     

Response of the lower atmosphere to intense geomagnetic storms

In this short paper we examine the possible connection between atmospheric parameters measured at low and middle altitudes and geomagnetic storms occurred in 2000 and 2003. For that, from a chain of stations located near the meridian 60°W we compare the storm time values of temperature and wind speed with their standard deviation 2σ obtained from quiet time values. We observed statistically significant variations at several altitudes during the storm recovery phase and after it, both in neutral wind speed and temperature. The results obtained suggest that atmospheric parameters could be affected by geomagnetic storms.     

Neutrino flares from black hole coronae

We present a model for neutrino flares in accreting black holes based on the injection of a non-thermal population of relativistic particles in a magnetized corona. The most important products of hadronic and photohadronic interactions at high energies are pions. Charged pions decay into muons and neutrinos; muons also decay yielding neutrinos. Taking into account these effects, coupled transport equations are solved for all species of particles and the neutrino production is estimated for the case of accreting galactic black holes.