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Rocket Flown Through Northern Lights To Help Unlock Space Weather Mysteries

Posted by timothy on from the david-bowie-enjoyed-the-trip dept.

Zothecula writes The northern lights are more than one of nature's most awe inspiring sights, they are an electromagnetic phenomena that can adversely affect power grids and communications and navigation systems. Researchers from the University of Oslo have flown a rocket through the phenomena to take a closer look with the aim of gathering data that will help in predicting space weather.

33 comments

  1. How useless is Slashdot by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Flamebait

    In what may be the biggest IT story of the month, if not the year, yea if not the decade, we have the NSA infecting the firmware of most HDD's with spyware. As in MOST HDD's. As in, NSA spyware. As in, they pretty much have the ability to pwn most of the PC's around the world.

    You may have heard about it. If you read Reddit, the Register, the NY Times, that is.

    But where is Slashdot? With their head up their ass. W.... T....F.... No story about it what-so-fucking-ever. No mention AT ALL.

    Google searching shows at least three people submitted the story to Slashdot.

    Stuff that matters? Yeah right. My goddamned MOTHER is more relevant on IT issues than this lame ass excuse for an IT oriented site. What a disgrace.

    "Your hard drives were RIDDLED with NSA SPYWARE for YEARS": http://www.theregister.co.uk/2...

    1. Re:How useless is Slashdot by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      soylent news

    2. Re:How useless is Slashdot by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I agree. If there was ever a time I wanted to know what other dotters thought about a thing, and more importantly, what the ramifications of a thing are, it was this issue.

      WTF indeed, Slashdot. I might understand your idiotic editors overlooking a thing, but when there are muliple submisisons about this, and you just derp it off, that's inexcusable. Especially for a story such as this.

    3. Re:How useless is Slashdot by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I agree. If there was ever a time I wanted to know what other dotters thought about a thing, and more importantly, what the ramifications of a thing are, it was this issue.

      WTF indeed, Slashdot. I might understand your idiotic editors overlooking a thing, but when there are muliple submisisons about this, and you just derp it off, that's inexcusable. Especially for a story such as this.

      I do not understand the article, but I will be happy to say Yippppeeeeee! I hope that helps to make you happy!

    4. Re:How useless is Slashdot by dotancohen · · Score: 1

      According to the linked article, it relies on Windows exploits. Nobody here will admit to using Windows!

      --
      It is dangerous to be right when the government is wrong.
    5. Re: How useless is Slashdot by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Everyone (aircraft, ships, military and so on) depending on safe navigation will benefit from the data obtained from this Norwegian rocket.

      The satnav signals from gps/ glonass/ galileo are distorted by space weather giving out wrong positioning data.

    6. Re:How useless is Slashdot by Rei · · Score: 3, Interesting

      You mean this article? Albeit the summary was poor, but it covers the firmware hacking.

      And FYI, if anyone actually takes the time to read the Kaspersky report they'd catch that the infection is believed to have been done on thousands to tens of thousands of computers, NOT "most HDDs". The firmware has the capability to infect most HDDs, but most HDDs are not infected - according to the very source report itself.

      Which should be obvious. Because if you're the NSA and you're writing a super-infection to use against top-level targets, the last thing you want to do is have it on every last computer in the world, increasing your likelihood of being found by many orders of magnitude. The NSA's preferred method of infection is interdiction - intercepting objects while in transit to targets, such as CDs or hard drives, infecting them, then letting them continue on their way.

      Once again, the NSA doesn't give a rat's arse if you're going to the Pirate Bay to download I Am Legend. It has far more important things to worry about, like people building atomic bombs and invading other countries.

      --
      We gotta go to a crappy town where I'm a hero.
    7. Re:How useless is Slashdot by Vitriol+Angst · · Score: 0

      ...Once again, the NSA doesn't give a rat's arse if you're going to the Pirate Bay to download I Am Legend. It has far more important things to worry about, like people building atomic bombs and invading other countries.

      I'd say "citation needed" but we only have rumor, innuendo and your word that the NSA is actually serious about going after real threats.

      --
      >>"ad space available -- low rates!!!"
  2. Unpopular move by Tablizer · · Score: 2

    "You broke my rainbow, waaaaah"

    --
    Table-ized A.I.
    1. Re:Unpopular move by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Thankfully "rainbow repairs specializing in rocket damage" returns 549,000 hits on Google.

  3. Big deal. by jtownatpunk.net · · Score: 1, Funny

    It's not like it's rocket science. Oh...wait...

  4. Frist Psot! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1

    Yippppeeeeee!!!!!! Thank everyone for supporting me!

    1. Re:Frist Psot! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      sorry bud, you didn't make it

  5. They have been doing this for decades by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1

    Hats off to NASA's PR person. This is hardly news as scientist have been launching rockets into the auroral zone taking measurements for many years now.

    1. Re:They have been doing this for decades by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I forget what state is the University of Oslo in

    2. Re:They have been doing this for decades by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I forget what state is the University of Oslo in

      Is it Oslo, Minnesota or Oslo, Forida? If some Europeans are doing this stuff, they must be getting the ideas from NASA.
       

    3. Re: They have been doing this for decades by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      This is not a NASA mission.

  6. News? by Brett+Buck · · Score: 5, Interesting

    People have been launching sounding rockets into the aurora borealis for something like 60 years - in the many hundreds, if not thousands. The facilities in AK and Canada are far and away the most active sounding rocket sites in the world because of it.

        How is this news?

    1. Re:News? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

      It's news because it pisses off the Republicans since they don't believe in the Aurora Borealis. Too many of their kind are Aurora Borealis deniers.

    2. Re:News? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Not only that, but the Republicans murdered the last group of scientists that investigated if or if not these made-up thing exists. A lot of people correctly think that the same drugs reponsible for the Republican liars that lie and claim they see UFOs are the same drugs responsible for thinking that there are magical lights in the sky. They are so stupid.

      I've lived in Alaska for nearly fourteen years, and I have never been drunk enough to think I've seen these hallucinations. Of course I have several stupid Republican friends that lie and claim to have seen them. They're the same morons that claim you can see asteroids in the atmosphere. They need to be put in prison and kept away from normal people.

    3. Re:News? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      > claim you can see asteroids

      I'm sure there have been a few that have been visible over the entirety of human history, but it is embarrassing how many Republicans claim to have seen one. My father was a physics professor and spent thousands of nights outside looking up and the sky and, of course, never saw one. I know in all of the hundreds of times I went with him, mostly camping away from light pollution, I never saw one. Chances are that if you know someone that has claimed to have seen one, then they are a liar.

    4. Re:News? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      If successful, this will be the first measurements of the phenomenon that causes the worst disturbances in navigation systems like GPS: a space weather phenomenon in an active auroral region, forcing an electron cloud.

      More details here: http://www.mn.uio.no/fysikk/english/research/news-and-events/news/2015/ici4.html

    5. Re:News? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Indeed there is an outstanding picture and video linked for the local Alaska News Paper in Anchorage of several sounding rockets launched 28 Jan 2015. https://www.adn.com/article/20150126/four-rockets-launch-uaf-research-range

    6. Re: News? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Following your logic: Satellites are launching into orbit ever month, how is that news?

      Large sounding rocket missions take years to design and assemble and use advanced technology and so do not occur as frequent as you claim.

    7. Re: News? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      There are no active sounding rocket launch site in Canada. They use the one in Norway.

    8. Re:News? by bored_engineer · · Score: 1

      Here's one that I'm particularly fond of from last year.

  7. GO USA! GO USA! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    USA! USA! USA! USA! USA!

    1. Re:GO USA! GO USA! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      USA! USA! USA! USA! USA! USA! USA! USA! USA! USA! USA! USA! USA! USA! USA!

      The University of Olso is running this game but everything with doing starts with the USA!

      Yes youre welcome Norwegians. USA is happy to give you this opportunity! You do not even need to thank us for the science! Enjoy it buddies!

  8. 99 red baloons floating in the winter sky by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Panic birds its red alert,
    There's something here from somewhere else.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...

  9. TThe Republicans musssst hate thhhis by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1

    considering their kind dsoesn't belieeve n the Northern LIghts. They're so stuppid..

  10. The Summary Claims Effect is Cause by Rob+Riggs · · Score: 1

    The Aurora Borealis are not "are an electromagnetic phenomena that can adversely affect power grids and communications and navigation systems." They are but an effect of the solar wind, intensified by a solar flare pointed in our direction, interacting with the Earth's magnetic field.

    --
    the growth in cynicism and rebellion has not been without cause
    1. Re: The Summary Claims Effect is Cause by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Auroras are a visible effect from a solar storm. What they are researching here is what happens when the auroras occurs inside an electron cloud.

    2. Re:The Summary Claims Effect is Cause by Ungrounded+Lightning · · Score: 1

      The Aurora Borealis are not "are an electromagnetic phenomena that can adversely affect ..."

      (Putting on my grammar policeman cap, and explicitly not addressing Rob's point...)

      I DO wish the author of TFA would correctly use the singular and plural
      of "Phenomenon".
        - Phenomenon: One (class of ...)
        - Phenomena: More than one (class of ...)

      The Aurora Borealis are a set of related phenomena, involving glows from ionization of various atmospheric elements at different altitudes, various of the Van Allen belts being pumped up with new particles and/or pushed down by magnetic field distortion from solar wind variations, upper-atmosphere currents, ground currents, and I don't know what all else. The author's apparently inconsistent use of the singular and plural makes it difficult to understand what he meant.

      --
      Bantam Dominique roosters crow a four-note song. Once you've heard it as "Happy BIRTHday" you can't NOT hear it that way