Archiv: Erde / Earth (planet)


13.11.2025 - 22:35 [ Famous-Trials.com ]

The Trial of Galileo: An Account

The trial by the Congregation moved to its conclusion. Several of the ten cardinals apparently pushed for Galileo‘s incarceration in prison, while those more supportive of Galileo argued that–with changes–the Dialogue ought to continue to be allowed to circulate. In the end, a majority of the cardinals–rejecting much of the Commissary‘s agreement with Galileo–demanded Galileo „even with the threat of torture…abjure in a plenary assembly of the Congregation of the Holy Office…[and] then be condemned to imprisonment at the pleasure of the Holy Congregation.“ Moreover, the cardinals declared, the Dialogue „is to be prohibited.“

The grand play ran its course, with the Pope insisting upon a formal sentence, a tough examination of Galileo, public abjuration, and „formal prison.“ Galileo was forced to appear once again for formal questioning about his true feelings concerning the Copernican system. Galileo obliged, so as not to risk being branded a heretic, testifying that „I held, as I still hold, as most true and indisputable, the opinion of Ptolemy, that is to say, the stability of the Earth and the motion of the Sun.“ Galileo‘s renunciation of Copernicanism ended with the words, „I affirm, therefore, on my conscience, that I do not now hold the condemned opinion and have not held it since the decision of authorities….I am here in your hands–do with me what you please.“

13.11.2025 - 20:56 [ United Nations ]

‘A wave of truth’: COP30 targets disinformation threat to climate action

Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva set the tone at the opening session, declaring that the battle for truth has become just as critical as the fight to cut emissions. COP30 must mark “a new defeat for climate denialists,” he said.

On Wednesday, 12 nations – including Brazil, Canada, France, Germany and Spain – signed onto the first-ever Declaration on Information Integrity on Climate Change, pledging to fight back against the flood of false content and protect those on the frontlines of truth: environmental journalists, scientists and researchers.

The declaration, unveiled under the Global Initiative for Information Integrity on Climate Change, calls for concrete steps to dismantle networks of climate lies and shield evidence-based voices from harassment and attacks.

13.11.2025 - 20:18 [ Weather.com ]

Watch: Auroras Light Up Skies Worldwide

November 13, 2025

People across the United States weren’t the only ones treated to a spectacular celestial show. This week’s intense geomagnetic storm illuminated the night sky around the world. Check out some of the most stunning displays from Europe to Mongolia to Australia.

13.11.2025 - 19:54 [ Royal Astronomical Society - ras.ac.uk ]

Early riser! The Sun is already starting its next solar cycle

(July 19, 2024)

The current solar cycle, named Cycle 25 because it is the 25th since 1755 when extensive recording of solar sunspot activity began, started in 2019.

It is not expected to end for another six years but the first signs that the next solar cycle is beginning have been spotted by researchers from the University of Birmingham and presented at the Royal Astronomical Society‘s National Astronomy Meeting in Hull.

13.11.2025 - 19:49 [ EarthSky.org ]

The next solar cycle – Solar Cycle 26 – is already beginning

(July 23, 2024)

Solar max affects activity on the sun’s surface. Sunspots, flares and coronal mass ejections are all more rampant at solar maximum. This leads to a surge in electromagnetic energy hurtling toward Earth, making auroras visible more often and at lower altitudes.

The current solar cycle – Cycle 25 – started in 2019. It has the name Cycle 25 because it’s the 25th since 1755, when extensive recording of solar sunspot activity began.

It is not expected to end for another six years, but researchers have spotted the first signs that the next solar cycle is beginning. Researchers from the University of Birmingham presented their findings at the Royal Astronomical Society’s National Astronomy Meeting in Hull on July 18, 2024.

13.11.2025 - 17:36 [ Harvard University ]

Detailed understanding of reduced geoeffectiveness of solar cycle 24 in association with geomagnetic storms

(May 2025)

Solar Cycle 24, the weakest in over a century, exhibited significant deviations from previous cycles, beginning with a prolonged minimum, weak polar fields, and asynchronous polar field reversal, leading to hemispheric asymmetry. Sunspot activity declined by approximately 30% compared to Cycle 23, while the overall occurrence rate of coronal mass ejections (CMEs) decreased, although some studies suggest that the rate of halo CMEs relative to total CMEs may have remained relatively stable. This study investigates the impact of weaker solar activity on geomagnetic storm dynamics by analyzing CME properties, solar wind conditions, and their influence on magnetospheric energy transfer. Key findings indicate that a lower heliospheric pressure in Cycle 24 caused CMEs to expand more than in Cycle 23, altering energy transfer to Earth‘s magnetosphere.

13.11.2025 - 13:31 [ LeRavi.org ]

NASA’s Voyager 1 set to become first human-made object to reach a full light-day distance from Earth in 2026

Launched in 1977, Voyager 1 has been cruising through space for nearly 47 years, traveling a mind-boggling distance of almost 16 billion miles from Earth. This journey has already broken records—it was the first spacecraft to cross the heliopause, the boundary where the Sun’s solar wind yields to interstellar space. Now, it is on course to reach a distance known as a light-day, meaning the distance that light travels in 24 hours.

Traveling at about 38,000 miles per hour, Voyager 1’s progress may seem slow compared to light speed, but it reveals the vast scales of cosmic distance. Radio signals sent from the spacecraft take nearly 23 hours to reach Earth, which offers a glimpse into the immense challenges of communicating across these astronomical expanses.

13.11.2025 - 03:08 [ Geophysical Research Letters 35(16) / researchgate.net ]

Magnetic effect on CO 2 solubility in seawater: A possible link between geomagnetic field variations and climate

(August 2008)

Correlations between geomagnetic-field and climate parameters have been suggested repeatedly, but possible links are controversially discussed. Here we test if weak (Earth-strength) magnetic fields can affect climatically relevant properties of seawater. We found the solubility of air in seawater to be by 15% lower under reduced magneticfield (20 mT) compared to normal field conditions (50 mT). The magnetic-field effect on CO2 solubility is twice as large, from which we surmise that geomagnetic field variations modulate the carbon exchange between atmosphere and ocean. A 1% reduction in magnetic dipole moment may release up to ten times more CO2 from the surface ocean than is emitted by subaerial volcanism.

(…)

The fact that the MF effect is similar among the molecular gases suggests that effects seen with air are not due to the paramagnetic susceptibility of O 2, which is too small to explain the observed magnetic-field effects in terms of magnetization effects.

13.11.2025 - 02:52 [ Nature.com ]

Mysterious link between Earth’s magnetism and oxygen levels baffles scientists

(June 13, 2025)

The strength of Earth’s magnetic field seems to rise and fall in line with the abundance of oxygen in the planet’s atmosphere, a study of geological records spanning the past half a billion years has found.

13.11.2025 - 02:41 [ Science.org ]

Strong link between Earth’s oxygen level and geomagnetic dipole revealed since the last 540 million years

(June 13, 2025)

We search for possible observational evidence for such a relationship by examining evolutions of the virtual geomagnetic axial dipole moment and the atmospheric oxygen level over the past 540 million years. We find that both exhibit strong linearly increasing trends, coupled with a large surge in magnitude between 330 and 220 million years ago.

13.11.2025 - 02:39 [ National Aeronautics and Space Administration ]

NASA Scientists Find Ties Between Earth’s Oxygen and Magnetic Field

(June 18, 2025)

Data for both Earth’s magnetic field and oxygen extend over comparable ranges in databases that myriad geophysicists and geochemists have compiled. Until now, the authors of the new study say, no scientists had made a detailed comparison of the records.

13.11.2025 - 02:26 [ Eos.org ]

A Weak Spot in Earth’s Magnetic Field Is Going from Bad to Worse

(November 10, 2025)

The observations by the European Space Agency’s Swarm trio of satellites found that Earth’s already weak magnetic field over the South Atlantic Ocean—a region known as the South Atlantic Anomaly (SAA)—is getting worse and that it has grown by an area half the size of continental Europe since 2014. At the same time, a region over Canada where the field is particularly strong has shrunk, while another strong field region in Siberia has grown, the measurements show.

13.11.2025 - 02:11 [ ScienceSensei.com ]

The Earth’s Magnetic Field Is Rapidly Weakening—And Scientists Are Tracking Every Change

(July 29, 2025)

1. The Magnetic Field’s Essential Role

Earth’s magnetic field acts as a protective barrier against the relentless bombardment of solar wind and cosmic rays. Without this shield, high-energy particles from the Sun would strip away our atmosphere, exposing living organisms to dangerous radiation.

(…)

12. Atmospheric and Climate Connections

Researchers are investigating whether a weaker magnetic field could alter Earth’s atmosphere or climate.

13.11.2025 - 01:44 [ National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) ]

World Magnetic Model Receives Upgrade

(August 19, 2025)

In addition to the WMM2025, the release includes the first-ever World Magnetic Model High Resolution (WMMHR), which features a spatial resolution of approximately 300 km at the equator, an improvement upon the standard spatial resolution of 3,300 km at the equator. Higher resolution provides greater directional accuracy, making this a significant improvement for users.

In addition to the introduction of the WMMHR, this release comes with some other key changes:

– The WMM predicts an intensification of the South Atlantic Anomaly (SAA) between 2025 and 2030.
– The WMM uncertainty analysis presented in the report has been updated with new data, resulting in a slightly revised error budget.
– The WMM report provides altitude ranges for varying levels of geomagnetic activity.

13.11.2025 - 01:35 [ Watchers.news ]

Magnetic North Pole shift brings updates to World Magnetic Model 2025

(December 25, 2024)

2 versions of the model are:

WMM2025: Standard model with a spatial resolution of 3 300 km (2 050 miles) at the equator.
WMMHR2025: A high-resolution model with an improved spatial resolution of approximately 300 km (186 miles), offering enhanced directional accuracy.

“We’re delighted to join with NOAA and BGS to publish WMM2025 and WMMHR2025, and we encourage users, where possible, to transition to the higher resolution model,” Mike Paniccia, a geodetic Earth scientist and the program manager for the World Magnetic Model (WMM) at the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA), stated.

13.11.2025 - 01:19 [ European Space Agency ]

Swarm probes weakening of Earth’s magnetic field

(May 20, 2020)

Over the last 200 years, the magnetic field has lost around 9% of its strength on a global average. A large region of reduced magnetic intensity has developed between Africa and South America and is known as the South Atlantic Anomaly.

12.11.2025 - 23:41 [ New York Post / Youtube ]

Aurora Borealis Displays STUNNED Americans Across the Country

The northern lights lit up the night sky across America on Tuesday, dazzling stargazers from New Hampshire to the heartland with eerie green and orange streaks of cosmic fire.

12.11.2025 - 23:29 [ NPR.org ]

The U.S. saw vivid northern lights as far south as Florida — and more could be coming

The Aurora Borealis was spotted in a large swath of states, including Idaho, Iowa, Missouri, New Mexico, New York, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas and Washington state. Northern lights were visible as far south as parts of Florida and Alabama, a relatively rare occurrence that highlights the severity of this week‘s storms.

12.11.2025 - 23:25 [ KRCRTV.com ]

Rare solar storm lights up Northern California skies

A surge in solar activity fueled the vibrant display as the sun reached the peak of its 11-year solar cycle, a period marked by a sharp increase in sunspots and geomagnetic storms.

Around 2019–2020, the sun was at its quietest point; however, with more frequent bursts of solar wind erupting from those sunspots, Earth is now experiencing more substantial and more frequent auroral events.

12.11.2025 - 23:21 [ SWR.de ]

Farbenfrohes Himmelsphänomen: Polarlichter über Baden-Württemberg

Etwas Besonderes sind die Polarlichter in Süddeutschland auch, weil sie kein häufiges Phänomen sind. Skandinavien ist für die Sonnenstürme bekannt. „Tatsächlich ist Polarlicht in Süddeutschland schon sehr, sehr selten“, sagt Liefke.

07.03.2025 - 09:38 [ NASA / Youtube ]

Live Video from the International Space Station (Official NASA Stream)

Started streaming on Feb 27, 2025
Watch live video from the International Space Station, including inside views when the crew aboard the space station is on duty. Views of Earth are also streamed from an external camera located outside of the space station. During periods of signal loss due to handover between communications satellites, a blue screen is displayed.

The space station orbits Earth about 250 miles (425 kilometers) above the surface. An international partnership of five space agencies from 15 countries operates the station, and it has been continuously occupied since November 2000. It‘s a microgravity laboratory where science, research, and human innovation make way for new technologies and research breakthroughs not possible on Earth.

26.04.2024 - 02:52 [ Space.com ]

Earth got hammered by cosmic rays 41,000 years ago due to a weak magnetic field

(24 April 2024)

The question is, Do periods of low magnetosphere intensity also correlate with major upheavals in Earth‘s biosphere, the complete zone of our planet over which life exists, ranging from mountaintops to the deepest ocean trenches?

„Understanding these extreme events is important for their occurrence in the future, space climate predictions, and assessing the effects on the environment and on the Earth system,“ Sanja Panovska, a scientist at GFZ Potsdam in Germany, said in a statement.

26.04.2024 - 02:05 [ Science.org ]

A global environmental crisis 42,000 years ago

(19 Feb 2021)

Do terrestrial geomagnetic field reversals have an effect on Earth‘s climate? Cooper et al. created a precisely dated radiocarbon record around the time of the Laschamps geomagnetic reversal about 41,000 years ago from the rings of New Zealand swamp kauri trees. This record reveals a substantial increase in the carbon-14 content of the atmosphere culminating during the period of weakening magnetic field strength preceding the polarity switch. The authors modeled the consequences of this event and concluded that the geomagnetic field minimum caused substantial changes in atmospheric ozone concentration that drove synchronous global climate and environmental shifts.

(…)

We precisely characterize the geomagnetic reversal and perform global chemistry-climate modeling and detailed radiocarbon dating of paleoenvironmental records to investigate impacts. We find that geomagnetic field minima ~42 ka, in combination with Grand Solar Minima, caused substantial changes in atmospheric ozone concentration and circulation, driving synchronous global climate shifts that caused major environmental changes, extinction events, and transformations in the archaeological record.

(…)

In addition, chronological uncertainties are complicated in radiocarbon-dated terrestrial and marine records around the Laschamps because of the elevated production of C and Be, cosmogenic radionuclides resulting from the substantial increase in high-energy cosmic radiation reaching the upper atmosphere. The high Be flux has been well described from Greenland and Antarctic ice core records (6, 20, 21), which reveal synchronous century-long Be peaks across the Laschamps that appear to reflect a series of pronounced Grand Solar Minima (GSM; prolonged periods of low solar activity similar to the Spörer and Maunder Minima: 1410 to 1540 CE and 1645 to 1715 CE), with unknown climate impacts (20, 21).

26.04.2024 - 01:50 [ ScienceNews.org ]

50 years ago, scientists named Earth’s magnetic field as a suspect in extinctions

(November 19, 2020)

Effects of Earth’s magnetic field — Science News, November 21, 1970

„Earth’s magnetic field has frequently reversed at intervals of 1 million to 100 million years. A few scientists now suspect that these reversals may have had drastic effects on terrestrial life.… During the past 2.5 million years, eight species of one-cell marine animals called Radiolaria became extinct. Six of these extinctions occurred simultaneously throughout their geographic range immediately following magnetic reversals.“

26.04.2024 - 01:30 [ PRI.org ]

Scientists link Earth’s magnetic reversals to changes in planet’s life and climate

(April 19, 2021)

The researchers examined the rings of the tree to look for changes in the amount of carbon-14 over a period of years, Gramling explains. Carbon-14 is useful not only for dating things, but because the interaction of cosmic rays with molecules in the atmosphere produces a lot of it. And when the Earth has a weakened magnetic field, more cosmic rays hit the planet.

The scientists indeed found a large spike in carbon-14 in the tree, which they could then compare with the rock record that indicated a magnetic reversal. (…)

In addition, there is the documented rise in cave art right about 41,000-42,000 years ago, Gramling points out.

26.04.2024 - 01:20 [ ScienceAlert.com ]

Earth‘s Magnetic North Pole Has Shifted So Much We‘ve Had to Update GPS

(Feb 6, 2019)

Scientists on Monday released an emergency update to the World Magnetic Model, which cellphone GPS systems and military navigators use to orient themselves.

It‘s a minor change for most of us – noticeable only to people who are attempting to navigate very precisely very close to the Arctic.

26.04.2024 - 01:14 [ MarineLink.com ]

World Magnetic Model Updated

(December 16, 2014)

Changes in the Earth‘s outer core trigger unpredictable changes in its magnetic field, an invisible force that extends from Earth‘s interior to where it meets a stream of charged particles emanating from the Sun.

26.04.2024 - 00:30 [ Geophysical Research Letters 35(16) / researchgate.net ]

Magnetic effect on CO 2 solubility in seawater: A possible link between geomagnetic field variations and climate

(August 2008)

Correlations between geomagnetic-field and climate parameters have been suggested repeatedly, but possible links are controversially discussed. Here we test if weak (Earth-strength) magnetic fields can affect climatically relevant properties of seawater. We found the solubility of air in seawater to be by 15% lower under reduced magneticfield (20 mT) compared to normal field conditions (50 mT). The magnetic-field effect on CO2 solubility is twice as large, from which we surmise that geomagnetic field variations modulate the carbon exchange between atmosphere and ocean. A 1% reduction in magnetic dipole moment may release up to ten times more CO2 from the surface ocean than is emitted by subaerial volcanism.

26.04.2024 - 00:20 [ Forbes.com ]

Is Earth’s Magnetic Shield Eroding?

(29.3.2018)

The strength of Earth’s main magnetic field is currently about 29.5 microteslas, down 5 microteslas, or 14 percent from its strength three centuries ago.

We know this. There is no question of this.

26.04.2024 - 00:00 [ Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth / onlinelibrary.wiley.com ]

Possible Eoarchean Records of the Geomagnetic Field Preserved in the Isua Supracrustal Belt, Southern West Greenland

(24 April 2024)

The preservation of a temperate climate and liquid water on early Earth depends critically upon the strength of the magnetosphere (Sterenborg et al., 2011; Tarduno et al., 2014). Recent atmospheric escape models have suggested that both weak (<10 μT) and strong (>1 mT) magnetic fields could substantially enhance atmospheric escape under present-day solar wind conditions via the polar wind or cusp escape, respectively (Gronoff et al., 2020; Gunell et al., 2018; Lundin et al., 2007). During the Archean, the Sun was rotating faster, generating a stronger stellar dynamo and therefore the solar wind was more intense than today (Vidotto, 2021). An increased solar wind strength causes greater interaction with the upper atmosphere and greater escape of ions assuming a constant level of protection from Earth‘s magnetosphere. Previous magnetohydrodynamic simulations have suggested that if Earth‘s magnetic field was half its present day strength 3.5 Ga ago, the area of the polar cap (the area containing open dipolar magnetic field lines, allowing atmospheric escape via the polar wind) could increase by up to 50% (Sterenborg et al., 2011).

25.04.2024 - 23:52 [ IFLscience.com ]

The Earth’s Magnetic Field Is At Least 3.7-Billion-Years Old, New Evidence Shows

The age of the Earth’s magnetic field remains under question in part because we don’t fully understand what causes it today. We know it is a product of movements in the molten outer core, whose high iron content turns convection currents into a dynamo, and these currents in turn are produced by the solidification of the inner core.

25.04.2024 - 23:45 [ livescience.com ]

Earth‘s magnetic field formed before the planet‘s core, study suggests

(24 April 2024)

Today, the magnetic field is driven by the churning of the liquid part of the core and the transfer of heat from the solid inner core to the convective outer core as the former cools. But researchers think the core didn‘t solidify until about a billion years ago.