CAROLINA NATURALLY: Matters Astronomical

Thursday, April 23, 2009

Matters Astronomical

This giant blob of hydrogen gas may hide a distant galaxy, one of the earliest yet found (Image: M Ouichi et al)

Astronomers have spotted the most distant blob of gas ever seen – they're puzzling over how it got so large so soon after the big bang.

Mysterious cosmic blob discovered in early universe

On the dark side of the Earth, the solar wind stretches out Earth's magnetic field, forming a region known as the magnetotail. When it is stretched too far, it snaps, releasing energy that creates a pair of counter-spiralling vortices in the solar wind. One vortex sends particles into Earth's ionosphere; charged particles return up through the other vortex, completing the electrical circuit (Illustration: A Keiling et al/THEMIS/NASA)

On the dark side of the Earth, space is riddled with giant plasma tornadoes that power shimmering auroral displays, new observations reveal.

Giant space tornadoes create Earth's auroras

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