Ionosphere

In a mission that could have important implications for global communications, NASA has launched a spacecraft to study the ionosphere and the effects of the lower atmosphere upon it.

The unusually cold year of 1816 has been linked to one of the most powerful volcanic eruptions in recorded history, and now we may know how. A new paper explains how electrified ash from the eruption could have “short-circuited” the Earth’s ionosphere and triggered the “Year Without A Summer.”

NASA's Global-Scale Observations of the Limb and Disk (GOLD) instrument was launched into orbit earlier today atop an Ariane 5 rocket, with a mission to shed light on how the uppermost layers of Earth's atmosphere can be affected by powerful space and Earth-based weather events.

The ESA's Swarm satellites have found a strange system at work in the upper atmosphere. Electrical fields created as solar winds interact with the planet’s magnetic field have been found to drive supersonic plasma jets, which can heat the ionosphere to temperatures as high as 10,000º C (18,032º F).

When mysterious plumes ​were observed high in the Martian atmosphere by amateur astronomers back in 2012, explanations ranged from massive auroras to a meteor impact​. Now it seems that a wild bout of space weather may be to blame.

Scientists have analyzed data recorded during the lengthy decent of the US Air Force's C/NOFS satellite into Earth's atmosphere. The observations will be extremely useful for future operations, significantly improving predictive models for satellite trajectory and re-entry.

A Sydney University student has used an Australian outback radio telescope to locate previously unknown plasma pipes in the upper atmosphere. Using a clever imaging technique, a 3D movie has been made of their moving formations too.

A new NASA study focusing on irregularities in Earth’s upper atmosphere may help scientists overcome disruptions in GPS communication. The findings provide an insight into the causes of the disruptive regions, and represent the first time that such observations have been made from space.

NASA has announced that it is going forward with its Ionospheric Connection Explorer (ICON). Scheduled to launch in 2017, the orbital mission aims to study the effects of the lower atmosphere on the ionosphere and its impact on the Earth’s surface.

Contrary to recent reports, the High Frequency Active Auroral Research Program, also known as HAARP, is currently in hiatus between two operating contractors rather than being permanently shut down.

Researchers have found that signatures of rogue nuclear tests appear in GPS and radio telescope adjustment noise.