What Do You Call a Hurricane in Space?

On August 8, 2014, scientists detected a “hurricane” of plasma in the Earth’s upper atmosphere. The phenomenon was dubbed a “space hurricane” and lasted for about 8 hours. However, this space hurricane is very different from what we call hurricanes on Earth.

Artist Rendering of Space Hurricane

On Earth, hurricanes are caused because of pressure differences. Most hurricanes happen in very tropical climates because there are warm temperatures. This is because the difference between the temperature of seawater and the air is the greatest. The structure of a hurricane is made up of a wind field that rotates at very fast speeds around the eye of the hurricane. The eye of the hurricane is where the air sinks, thus making it a calm and safe spot. Hurricanes often bring rain with them and cause a lot of damage from high wind speed and flooding.

Hurricane Isabel in 2003 Being 
Viewed from the ISS

However, the space hurricane that scientists observed that day was very different. For starters, the space hurricane was made up of magnetic field lines and was invisible to the human eye. It was detected by four passing weather satellites. The space hurricane’s structure was a little different from a normal hurricane. The shape of the space hurricane was a funnel, with an eye in the center. Additionally, there were many counter-clockwise spinning arms of plasma. Plasma is ionized gas. Surprisingly, the space hurricane also made it rain electrons into the Earth’s upper atmosphere.

Scientists have tried to create a 3D model of the hurricane and hypothesized why it was formed. One hypothesis claims that it was created from a complex interaction between solar winds from the sun and the Earth’s magnetic field. We still don’t know a lot about the phenomenon that scientists dubbed the space hurricane. But don’t be scared of the space hurricane. The worst it will do is disrupt your GPS.

Diagram of the Space Hurricane

Sources:

“Space Hurricane.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 6 Mar. 2021, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_hurricane. 

Specktor, Brandon. “First-Ever 'Space Hurricane' Detected over the North Pole.” Space.com, Space, 6 Mar. 2021, www.space.com/space-hurricane-over-north-pole. 

“Tropical Cyclone.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 7 Mar. 2021, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tropical_cyclone#Formation.