Dec 19 1976
From The Space Library
Three satellites making simultaneous investigations of earth's magnetic field had confirmed that long low-frequency waves spreading the disruptive effects of magnetic storms on earth had been generated far out in space by energetic particles from the sun, NOAA announced. Speaking at the annual meeting of the American Geophysical Union in San Francisco, Calif., earlier in Dec., Dr. Joseph N. Barfield of NOAA, R.L. McPherron of UCLA, and W.J. Hughes of London's Imperial College reported the waves might have practical uses in exploring for oil and minerals, and in aiding undersea communication with submarines, which now had to surface to make contact. Environmental satellites Sms 1 and Sms 2, with research satellite Ats 6, in geosynchronous orbit on a line along the earth's equator, had carried magnetometers used to detect the low-frequency waves passing each satellite in a predicted order, the first use of multiple spacecraft to make such measurements simultaneously. Confirmation of the theory also identified the point of origin as the magnetosphere and the existence of a "resonance region" that amplified the wave frequency. The region was described as about 1200 km thick. (NOAA Release 76-281)
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