Musk and China create a celestial phenomenon? Luminous clouds haunt the edge of space, Scientist: There is no solution yet
Original title: Xu Dewen Science Channel 2020-05-21 21:34
Noctilucent clouds appear in Earth's upper atmosphere, just a stone's throw from the edge of space. Their mysterious beauty and grotesqueness, found only at high latitudes near the Earth's North and South Poles, have been rarely documented and extremely rare since they were first observed in 1885.
But in recent years, more and more luminous clouds have appeared in the high altitudes of the polar regions, and even at high latitudes, the eerie glow of luminous clouds can be seen. Recently, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) released a new study, "Luminous Clouds in the Eyes of Polar Bears." The paper was published in the latest issue of the international journal Nature. Scientists believe that this could herald a dramatic change in the planet and that human activities will reshape the planet.
Clouds are visible droplets or aggregates of ice crystals that form when water vapor reaches saturated vapor pressure in the atmosphere and binds to suspended particulate matter. Clouds form when a certain amount of water vapor (about 10% of the total) is present in the cloud and the relative humidity is greater than 90%. Clouds are divided into cumulonimbus clouds, stratigraphic paired drift clouds, and stratigraphic precipitation clouds. Therefore, the formation of clouds is inseparable from two substances: water vapor and particulate matter, and the formation of water vapor and air molecules is inseparable from water vapor and air molecules. Since the interaction between the water molecules is small, the slight drop in temperature is not enough for them to condense into a liquid state, and a proper solid surface is needed for the water molecules to condense on them and quickly wrap them up, forming droplets that condense into visible clouds.
These tiny suspended particulates, also known as aerosols, are usually mineral particles released into the atmosphere, as well as tiny bacteria, fungi and algae blown into the air. Therefore, the fact that some life lives in the clouds is not in science fiction. It can not only affect our living environment, but also cause problems such as climate warming and air pollution. Why is this happening? There are many reasons, but mainly due to the cloud droplets formed by the condensation of a large amount of water vapor between the clouds and the air. Almost all weather phenomena on Earth occur above the surface, in the troposphere, below 7 to 11 km, because this is 75% of the mass of the entire atmosphere, almost all of the water vapor and aerosols are here, making it the most complex place to change the weather.
But nocturnal clouds are not here, they form 76 to 85 kilometers above the middle layer, the air is cold, dry, thin, and there is almost no water vapor or aerosol.
According to scientists, nocturnal clouds are made up of tiny water ice crystals up to 100 nanometers. Because of the height of the mesosphere, low air pressure, and water vapor content is one billionth of the air in the Sahara Desert. Water vapor and dust particles need to condense below -120 °C. Therefore, the luminous clouds formed during the day are usually bright, while the night formation is very dark. That's why there is a layer of white clouds over the South Pole and a layer of gray clouds over the North Pole. What is the cause of this phenomenon? It is only in the summers of the Arctic and South that we see such temperatures, which is contrary to our intuition. Due to the Earth's Coriolis force, the polar atmosphere rises in the summer, causing adiabatic expansion to cool, affecting more than just the heating effect of solar radiation. Therefore, in the summer, when the sun is direct, the temperature at the top of the middle layer is the lowest. In winter, when there is no sunlight, the polar atmosphere sinks and produces adiabatic compression, resulting in the highest temperature.
The causes of luminous clouds are not fully understood by the scientific community, nor are the sources of the two main elements, dust and water vapor. One of the sources of water vapor may be the rise of cracks in the troposphere, or the reaction of methane to oxygen in the atmosphere exposed to sunlight. But these are not very clear questions, because neither of them directly affects visibility within the cloud. So people have always wanted to find an answer, that is: what is the cause of the cloud at night? Or what? On the other hand, the source of dust is also very interesting.
Noctilucent clouds were first discovered in 1885, two years after the eruption of Krakatoa volcano in Indonesia, where some scientists believe that the krakatoa volcano injects dust and water vapor into the upper atmosphere to form luminous clouds. Since then, many have suspected that this is just a natural phenomenon; some even say that it is the product of volcanic eruptions. However, it was not until the early 1880s that it became increasingly recognized that this natural phenomenon did exist. But noctilucent clouds were still observed after the ash had receded, so there was no clear evidence that the eruptions brought noctilucent clouds.
A 2009 study by Geophysical Research Letters showed that 19081908 observation of luminous cloud clouds after the Tunguska Big Bang proved that comet material can be luminous when in the atmosphere Geophysical Research Letters.
The outer tanks of the U.S. Space Shuttle are fueled by hydrogen and oxygen, emitting large amounts of water vapor into the upper atmosphere and are therefore thought to produce luminous clouds. But scientists have recently discovered that these clouds have a special property: there is no light and heat during the day, and it emits a faint glow at night. This phenomenon is called "nocturnal glow." It is very much like the radiance of the sun. After musk's SpaceX Falcon 9 launch in 2014, Orlando also formed luminous clouds, possibly caused by water vapor from kerosene and oxygen combustion (below).
Since the appearance of luminous clouds may be related to changes in the entire Earth's atmosphere, scientists have been struggling to explain their origins and increasingly frequent appearances. NASA has repeatedly launched satellites and rockets for special observations and studies. The National Science Foundation (NSF) published the latest issue of astrophysics on its website. It states that cosmic rays can enter the sun's core through the atmosphere and trigger solar wind activity. CERN also studied whether cosmic rays react with matter in the middle layer to form particles of noctilucent clouds.
There are currently two possible sources of particles that form nocturnal clouds, one is fine dust from meteors, but the frequency with which meteors hit Earth does not explain the increase in noctilucent clouds in recent years.
Another possibility is that rocket launches have become more frequent in recent years, causing more exhaust gases, particles and water to enter the middle layer, possibly forming noctilucent clouds. There is also the question, that is, will the luminous cloud affect the work of other devices on the satellite? If there is such a possibility, then how should we deal with it? This is a topic worth studying. Because it's important. The number of rocket launches has increased dramatically in recent years, mainly from Musk SpaceX and China, and frequent luminous clouds may also be associated with these launches.
Another reason why luminous clouds are more likely to form may be related to increased emissions of carbon dioxide, which has a cooling effect in the middle layer, making it easier for water to condense around particles to form clouds.
So if it's true that rocket launches and carbon dioxide emissions are responsible, the incremental part of the luminous cloud is further proof that human activity is dramatically altering our planet, not just on the Surface of the Earth, but also in the middle and upper atmospheres of the atmosphere.
We are reshaping the planet, what will the planet bring to us? Maybe it's an ocean, a lake or a continent... But I believe that the earth will never forget the place for which human beings once fought for it – Antarctica! Because there is hope for human survival and development there. The unstoppable pace of humanity leaving Earth, and the increasing frequency of polar luminous clouds, may indeed herald the unstoppable ambition of human civilization to march into space, that is, to become a true interstellar civilization, where we will eventually find more homes.