At https://www.sciencealert.com/nasa-is-watching-a-vast-growing-anomaly-in-earths-magnetic-field … apparently, Earth’s magnetic field has an anomaly. Something not yet understood. A large region of lower magnetic intensity exists in the skies between South America and SW Africa. It has been called the South Atlantic Anomaly and it is basically a region of weakened magnetic field strength. As such, it is susceptible to charged particles from the Sun.
It does not really affect life at the surface but when it comes to orbiting satellites, and the International Space Station, encounters with the region may be more concerning. Not only that – as it is evolving what will the end product amount to? It may cause, even now, malfunctions in satellite equipment, as an example. It may even reflect a weakening of the dominance of the dipole field in the region, which is an intriguing thing to say considering Marinus van der Sluijs research ino magnetic anomalies in the past as outined in several artilces in SIS C & C Review as well has his extensive research described in a series of books with the title, ‘On the Origin of Myths in Catastrophic Experience‘ [Vancouver:2021]. A localised field with reversed polarity grows strongly in the South Atlantic region, and weakens the magnetic field itself. The scientists go on to say they do not fully understand the anomaly – or even its implications. A study in 2020 suggested the phenomena is not a fresh event – but a recurring magnetic event that goes back, at least, eleven million years ago. The anomaly is said to have an impact on auroras also, we are told. This may actually home in on some of the data produced by van der Sluijs in volume 2 of his series, specifically focussing on the aurora as recorded in the past. Highs and lows and the idea of minor magnetic poles that come and go. There is actually a review of his books in one of the recent issues of SIS C & C Review which can be emailed free of charge to anyone taking an interest in the subject.
At https://www.sciencealert.com/life-could-exist-in-space-even-without-planets-scientists-say … this is a remarkable piece of out of the box thinking. The start is the failure of astronomers to discover life in space on exo-planets. Could it exist in other contexts. Does life even require planets – or can it exist outside such an environment out there in space. Researchers suggest an ecosystem could generate and contain the conditions necessary for their own survival, without actually requiring a planet to live on. Planets are large and require a number of factors to be in place before life can exist. The earth system has it all – but other planets seem to fail when studied by scientists. Some of the basics include transmitting visible radiation, blocking ultra violet, and maintaing temperature gradients of 25 – 100 K, and pressure differences of 10kPa against the vacuum of space. A number of other requirements are required in order to allow habitable conditions. It is a long read but well worth indulging yourself. It provides a direct link to the article itself in the journal Astrobiology – which is thought provoking. They also explain the difficulties to the creation of such a system – and its ability to contain itself. In other words, life may exist out there in space but a planet may not be necessary for it to flourish. Opening up the search for extraterrestrial life which is thought may have been carried to Earth via comets and asteroids, or space debris.