Scientists have confirmed the existence of a space hurricane swirling high above the North Pole, the Daily Mail reported. For the first time, scientists have glimpsed a phenomenon they believe occurs on all planets. The research team led by Shandong University in China made the announcement after analyzing a 621-mile-wide swirling mass of plasma spotted hundreds of miles above the North Pole, the Daily Mail reported.
Space hurricane exists over the North Pole
According to the Daily Mail, researchers observed a large cyclone-shaped auroral spot with a near-zero center of flow and a strong circular horizontal plasma flow and scissors, all of which are found in hurricanes in the lower atmosphere. The space hurricanes rained electrons instead of rainwater. The space hurricane moved counterclockwise, much like hurricanes in the Northern Hemisphere, and lasted nearly eight hours until it finally collapsed.
Professor Mike Lockwood, a space scientist at the University of Reading, told the Daily Mail that hurricanes can be a universal phenomenon on planets and moons with magnetic fields and plasma. He said it was uncertain until now that plasma hurricanes existed in space, but the observation is unbelievable. Previous observations have found space hurricanes on Mars, Saturn and Jupiter that are similar to hurricanes in a lower atmosphere. The latest discovery marks the first time a hurricane has been observed in Earth’s upper atmosphere.
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According to the study published in Nature, “a hurricane is associated with strong energy and mass transport, so a hurricane in the Earth’s upper atmosphere must be violent and efficiently transfer solar wind and momentum to the Earth’s ionosphere.” Researchers explained that space hurricanes open a fast channel for energy transfer from space to the ionosphere and thermosphere. It would help reveal important details of space weather effects such as increased satellite resistance, high frequency radio communication interference, etc.
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