Comments on: Blasts of high-energy radiation from Earth win a spot on a satellite

By: Jonathan Ray

Jonathan Ray — Sat, 18 Aug 2012 02:46:25 +0000

The mechanism is probably this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Relativistic_runaway_electron_avalanche
Electrons get accelerated to high energies by the multimillion volt electric field. The heat-related expansion of the surrounding air increases the mean free path of the electrons, which helps a lot. Then the high-energy electrons hit other particles and produce gamma rays.

By: carbonUnit

carbonUnit — Fri, 17 Aug 2012 13:04:01 +0000

And now, CubeSats can have ion drive!

http://phys.org/news/2012-08-mit-developed-microthrusters-propel-small-satellites.html

By: CheleBele

CheleBele — Thu, 16 Aug 2012 22:29:37 +0000

I’m Dr. Gomez’s Research Assistant and cannot believe we won this challenge!! I’m so grateful to be a part of such a broad spectrum of people who truly love Science!!! TGFs happen in that magical spot within the thunderstorm…our initial design for the CRD is to go inside a weather balloon payload. This is just the icing on the cake!! Now, there are TGEs or Enhancements that shoot gammas down from the thunderclouds..indeed timing is everything with the electric and magnetic fields just right, the barometric pressure and of course lightning!! Its a phenomena along with TLEs (blue jets and sprites) that inspire us!!

By: Andy

Andy — Thu, 16 Aug 2012 22:19:28 +0000

Isn’t NASA’s Firefly also going to study these TGFs?
http://www.nasa.gov/topics/universe/features/firefly.html

By: Uncle Al

Uncle Al — Thu, 16 Aug 2012 17:04:14 +0000

The nuclear test ban monitoring satellite array has been detecting, locating, and measuring bursts of energetic radiation from thunderstorms for 50 years. It is background to be subtracted from real events. FOI demand database release.

How sensitive? 1979, President Carter, “Racetrack.” Proposed 200 missiles eastern Nevada through western Utah in a system of multiple protective shelters linked by underground railroads. Quashed when claimed enemy satellite detecton of buried warhead location was single gamma-photon sensitive re fissile pit and DU implosion tamper and warhead casing. US Project Vela 1963 – 1989; 1970s’ Defense Support Program system; now Integrated Operational Nuclear Detection System.

J. Geophys. Res. 82(18) 2566 (1977), doi:10.1029/JC082i018p02566
“Detection of Lightning Superbolts” unclassified.

A year in the lab will save you a day in the library.

By: Tom Terrific

Tom Terrific — Thu, 16 Aug 2012 13:17:33 +0000

Are gamma rays defined by source or energy?

In my physics classes the differentiation of gammas and X-rays were their source, gammas from nuclei and X’s from atomic electron shells. Of course that was when we had only four elements: earth, air, fire, and water.

I intend to stop by our library and read the SA article.

By: SkyGazer

SkyGazer — Thu, 16 Aug 2012 09:41:47 +0000

Utter cool things like this.

By: fos

fos — Thu, 16 Aug 2012 06:41:17 +0000

What an amazing idea and project! Science is really BAD!

By: Happy Heyoka

Happy Heyoka — Thu, 16 Aug 2012 06:33:05 +0000

I’m wondering if a lack of radiation hardened Arduino-compatible CPUs will fly in the ointment for this project? Atmel seems to make a number of radiation hardened devices, but the common CPUs used for Arduino boards don’t seem to be amongst them.

I also realise that “Arduino” is a pretty broad church these days and that the nature of the mission may be that cheapness of the CubeSat may outweight the long term survival needs…?

Perhaps someone with satellite design experience could weigh in?

(None of this stops me thinking that is is a cool project and well worth doing)

By: Wzrd1

Wzrd1 — Thu, 16 Aug 2012 04:03:52 +0000

Quite true, George. Serendipity in science is valuable. When an odd observation is noticed and/or recorded.
Flemming with penicillin comes to mind. Interestingly, others had noticed antibiotic effects of penicillum, but either dismissed it or publishing authorities ignored it.
NASA’s loss of a balloon package over a thunderstorm comes to mind as well, where years after the loss, the initial theory that the thunderstorm caused the package to release at 120000 feet was updated with more current observation of elf effects.

And yes, I’m very well aware of the discovery of extraterrestrial GRB’s by military satellites monitoring for nuclear weapons tests. I started my military career working with nuclear weapons, hence I learned a LOT of things that were initially classified.
BTW, those were the Vela satellites, for anyone curious about them.
A lot of interesting science came out of military research in trying to find new ways to harm people. Indeed, ICBM research and space exploration tends to go hand in hand in the early phases.
It’s a pity that we can’t devote such effort instead to purely constructive research. :/