Hubble Telescope Discover Clouds While Monitoring Atmospheric Weather on Distant Planet GJ1214b

The Hubble Telescope discovered evidence of high altitude clouds covering super-Earth exoplanet, GJ1214b.

The super-Earth exoplanet is about 40 light years away and can be found towards the constellation Ophiuchus. Super-Earth planets have up to ten times the mass of the planet Earth and GJ1214b is bout 6.5 times the mass of Earth. Temperatures on the planet have been found to go up as high as 450 degrees Fahrenheit.

Super-Earths are still a mystery since there are no such planets in the Solar System. Even the physical nature of these planets are still unknown. The presence of an atmosphere, while found in exoplanets, is rare in the Solar System; only Earth and Jupiter moon Titan have an atmosphere.

The Hubble Space Telescope data reveal that the clouds covering GJ1241b may be high altitude clouds made of potassium chloride or zinc sulfide. These clouds also prevent the observation of the composition and behavior of the lower atmosphere and its surface.

Atmospheric Pattern Wavenumber-5 Key To Forecasting Heatwaves

This map of air flow a few miles above ground level in the Northern Hemisphere shows the type of wavenumber-5 pattern associated with US drought. This pattern includes alternating troughs (blue contours) and ridges (red contours), with an "H" symbol (for high pressure) shown at the center of each of the five ridges. High pressure tends to cause sinking air and suppress precipitation, which can allow a heat wave to develop and intensify over land areas.
Credit: Image courtesy Haiyan Teng

Based on historical weather data, scientists have identified an atmospheric pattern called Wavenumber-5 as a factor that could lead to forecasting a heatwave fifteen to twenty days before it happens.

An area experiencing unusual and excessive hot weather for a prolonged period of time is known to be going through a weather pattern called a heat wave. It is a phenomenon where the temperature for the period is much higher than what the climate for that area should be. Since a heat wave is relative to the area and its normal climate, the same temperature can be considered normal for people living in a hotter climate.

Wavenumber-5 is a pattern or sequence of five high-pressure systems and five low-pressure systems alternating with each other to form a circle around the northern midlatitudes, several miles above the surface of the Earth (see image on the left).

Heat waves pose environmental and health risks which could lead to drought, crop failures and hyperthermia. Hyperthermia is a condition where the person has an elevated body temperature which happens when the body produces or absorbs more heat than it dissipates

The 2003 heatwave in Europe, the hottest since 1540, was responsible for more than 70,000 deaths (mostly the elderly) and caused crop drought and forest fires throughout the southern regions. France was the hardest hit with around 14,000 deaths.

By being able to forecast a heatwave weeks in advance, measures can be undertaken to minimize the health and environmental hazards it can cause.

Climate During the Pliocene Period May Help Improve Climate Change Predictions

Researchers are looking back to climate conditions during the Pliocene Period, 4 to 5 million years ago, to develop a more improved model in predicting future climate change.

The climate during the Pliocene period was similar to the climate of modern times. It was cooler, drier and also experienced seasons just as today. The temperature then was around 2-3°C higher than today and sea level was 25 meters higher. Ocean temperature

The warm period during the mid-Pliocene epoch can be considered as a model of future climate today. The heat from the sun, geography and CO2 levels were similar to what it is now.

By studying the climate during the Pliocene period, researchers are hoping to find previously unknown mechanisms that may give insight on how climate reacts to certain conditions.

Lightning May Induce The Onset of Headaches and Migraine

Researchers at the University of Cincinnati found that lightning may cause the onset of headaches and migraines.

When there is an imbalance of positive and negative charges in the atmosphere, lightning occurs. This occurs when the lower area of a storm cloud becomes negatively charged while objects on the ground become positively charge which causes an imbalance.

The clash of these two charges creates a bolt of electricity that is lightning. This happens to align and balance the atmospheric charges back to normal. The actual process on the formation of lightning is still being investigated.

A lightning bolt may carry as much as one billion volts of electricity. These lightning discharges can create a short burst of electromagnetic waves which creates a magnetic field. There are occasions when objects in the lightning's path becomes permanently magnetized. This effect is known as lightning-induced remanent magnetism, or LIRM.

The science of Bioelectromagnetics which is the study of the interaction between electromagnetic fields and biological entities, are looking into the effects of electromagnetic waves such as LIRM and the human body.