Science Talks

We are currently in the brainstorming phase for the creation of science videos. The videos will cover different topics including the layers of the atmosphere, airglow, and gravity waves.
Please let us know in the comments what you know about these topics, additional topics you would like us to include, questions you would like us to answer, or any general thoughts or suggestions you have.

Our team will try their best to answer your questions!

 

16 Comments on "Science Talks"

  1. Is airglow always visible from space? Does air glow tend to be brighter in the eastern sky or over mountains? What are the colors you can see in the atmosphere? What causes this?

    • Hi Ann, good questions too! Airglow is visible from space. There are many cool pictures taken from space shuttles or satellites that show beautiful airglow layers seen from space. They come in mainly green or some other colors. The light is a result of chemical reactions. There are species that have extra energy that they release their energy via emitting photons. Some of the photons are in the visible spectrum and so you can see them.
      I’m not sure if airglow tends to be brighter in the eastern sky or over mountains. I guess more research will help answer this question!

  2. Where is the temperature data, that is used in the MSISE-90 model, taken from? How is that data derived and from what specific instrument(s)? Why is exospheric temperature a separate parameter from neutral temperature in the MSISE model?

    • Yolian Amaro-Rivera | February 27, 2018 at 8:04 pm | Reply

      Hi Michael! The MSIS models describe the atmosphere in terms of temperature and densities. There are different versions: MSIS-86, MSISE-90, and the most recent one, NRLMSISE-00. Each new version is an upgrade of the previous one. The data used in the MSIS models, in general, comes from different instruments and many experiments that have been carried out over the years. For example, density information has been measured with satellites and rockets. Temperature information has been obtained from incoherent scatter radar (ISR) (such as the Arecibo). The data in the MSIS models consist of those measurements but it is interpolated/extrapolated for the times, dates, locations, geophysical conditions, etc. not covered in the measurements.

      As for why the exospheric temperature is a separate parameter, I think it might be because in that region the chemistry is dominated by ions, so the algorithms to derive the data might be different. Also, I know that early versions of the MSIS models did not cover the exosphere region so that data was added later (but I’m not sure if that has anything to do with the fact that is a separate parameter).

  3. How does density change throughout the different layers of the atmosphere? Does the density of the layer affect the gravity waves?

    • Good Questions, Amanda. The atmospheric density decreases exponentially with altitude. So the higher you go, the thinner the air. When gravity waves are generated say in the lower atmosphere, they will propagate in the air. The higher they go into the smaller density region, their amplitudes get larger just so the wave energy is conserved. Gravity waves on other hand can affect local density to cause density variations. This is similar to mechanical waves or ripples seen in water or in clouds. Next time when you see bands of clouds in the sky, you know you are watching waves in motion.

  4. There is a sci-fi book called Three Body Problem. In it,human use gravity wave to broadcast to the entire universe,is it really possible?Is three body system really incomprehensible?

    • Hi Haoquan! I haven’t read the Three-Body Problem book but I believe they communicate using gravitational waves (different from gravity waves). We will try to create a video explaining the differences between gravitational waves and atmospheric gravity waves. As for the possibilities of communicating with gravitational waves… as far as I know, nothing like that has ever been done.

  5. Stephen Schrantz | February 17, 2018 at 7:49 pm | Reply

    Aside from explaining what gravity waves are, I’d like to know what effects they have on celestial bodies nearby if anything significant. Could the distortion make any significant impact on earth if an event were to occur nearby?

    • Fabio Vargas | March 11, 2018 at 8:57 pm | Reply

      Stephen

      We study gravity waves, which are different from gravitational waves. Gravity waves are mechanical waves occurring in the Earth’s atmosphere due to the unbalance of forces in air parcels, leading to the oscillatory motion of the air parcel around an equilibrium position.

  6. How can you have high levels of humidity in the air when the atmosphere is cold?

    • Tai-Yin Huang | March 12, 2018 at 12:53 am | Reply

      Hi Anthony,

      What altitude range were you referring to? Given that the atmosphere has a vertical structure, can you be more specific about the atmosphere where it is “cold” and has high levels of humidity?

      Dr. Huang

  7. Does ozone deterioration affect the magnetic force of our Earth?

    • Fabio Vargas | March 11, 2018 at 8:52 pm | Reply

      Hello Brandon

      The ozone molecule is neutral, that means, it has no net charge. Therefore, it does not affect or
      is affected by the Earth magnetic field.

  8. Charlie Wirth Jr | February 15, 2018 at 10:57 pm | Reply

    What is the best analogy for the layers of Earth’s atmosphere?

    • Yolian Amaro-Rivera | February 26, 2018 at 4:30 pm | Reply

      Hi Charlie,

      Thanks for your question! The best analogy that I could think of is a cake with layers made out of different ingredients. The layers of the atmosphere are defined by how the temperature changes with altitude. Each layer has different characteristics (composition, pressure, etc.). From the ground up there is the troposphere, stratosphere, mesosphere, thermosphere, and exosphere. There is also another layer known as the ionosphere (within the thermosphere) that contains the atoms and molecules ionized by solar radiation.

      We will later post a video in which we will discuss the main characteristics of each layer, so stay tuned!

      Yolián

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