July 2021
Arecibo - an astounding legacy
... explains. Although the original inspiration for the giant telescope at the Arecibo Observatory was to study the ionosphere, it was obvious from the beginning that radio and radar astronomy would be an important part of its scientific...
December 2014
MAVEN and the evolution of Mars
...lifedetection experiments, the Viking landers of the mid-1970s obtained first in-situ measurements of the atmosphere and ionosphere on their descent. However, throughout the decades of Mars exploration, the atmosphere above the surface boundary layer...
January 2017
Israeli students inspired by nano-satellite projects
...was to conduct research on the density of plasma in the ionosphere On the evening of 19 June 2014, Duchifat-1 was ...2010 was to conduct research on the density of plasma in the ionosphere. The satellite will start from an altitude of about 400 km ...
17 June 2020
NASA wants to visit Neptune’s weird moon Triton
... a whole keyring: a captured Kuiper Belt object that evolved, a potential ocean world with active plumes, an energetic ionosphere and a young, unique surface,” Mitchell concludes. Trident is one of four concepts being considered for NASA’s Discovery...
July 2014
In thrall to a star: understanding the Sun will help us understand our own climate and environment
... associated with significantly enhanced proton fluxes (courtesy of www.lmsal.com) On the surface, increased currents in the ionosphere can lead to ‘short circuits’ in the power grid leading to large-scale blackouts. This enhanced charging of the...
March 2016
Saving Earth from an Expanding Sun
... this work, our descendants may need to generate sufficient electron densities near the Moon to provide it with an ionosphere. A challenge, as would be ohmic losses and the inefficiency of pumping during the whole orbit. Let’s assume a probably...