Researchers Shed New Lights on Space Hurricanes

When the earth’s atmosphere gets excited, we get to see the magical auroras! But there are other kinds of auroras that happen in space and often get overlooked. Last year, scientists announced the discovery of ‘space hurricanes,’ which are essentially cyclone-like auroras. These hurricane auroras have multiple arms that rotate clockwise around a calm center, spanning 600 miles in diameter. According to a recently published study, scientists have now learned more detail about these massive cosmic phenomena.

The New Findings

During the period from 2005-2016, researchers examined over 300 space hurricanes. They discovered that these auroras generally form at higher latitudes near the North Pole, and they can spin for eight long hours. Also, scientists found that those space hurricanes formed at periods of low geomagnetic and low solar activity. They were most often seen during the afternoons of the summer season around the North Pole area.

The Possibility of Witnessing

According to space scientist Larry Lyons, who works at UCLA, space hurricanes generally occur where nobody looks and under conditions nobody considers. He told The Washington Post that witnessing a space hurricane is just a matter of opening your eyes. As the space physicist suggested, people hoping to spot a space hurricane from the ground must be around 80o north latitude near the north polar cap. As for astronauts, they could probably spot the phenomenon from the International Space Station.

The Possible Impact

Space hurricanes are recognized to affect navigation systems and satellite communications for now. Qing-He Zhang is a professor at the Institute of Space Science and Physics in China and one of the two co-authors of the newly published study. According to Zhang, the space hurricane study is just at its beginning. Though these auroras seemingly don’t pose any great risk to humankind or spacecraft health, it’s better to add some precautionary predictions for aircraft flying north polar routes.

Eminem Faces Spider-Man in a Rap Battle on a Special Marvel Variant Comic Cover

Christmas has indeed come early for Marvel comic nerds! In an unbelievable meeting of two worlds, Eminem can now be seen gracing the cover of a limited edition The Amazing Spider-Man book. While the “rap god” won’t appear in the comic series, creator Salvador Larroca has placed Eminem alongside the popular web-slinger on a comic book cover.

The Special Edition

The special variant edition of the Marvel comic will grace bookshelves from November 29. But there will be only 5000 print copies available to purchase, along with an additional 1000 limited prints of the more special spotlight version of the original book cover. You can also snag a copy via Eminem’s website. Paul Rosenberg, Eminem’s manager and CEO of Def Jam Recordings, stated that the idea for the special cover came from Haul, a creative agency specialized in designing Variant edition covers, fusing the comic world with real-life pop culture. Previously, Haul brought football star Saquon Barkley to a Black Panther cover and singing superstar The Notorious B.I.G. to a Deadpool cover. In this Spiderman-Eminem version, an influx of other Marvel superheroes can also be seen cheering the two on as Eminem freestyles. You can easily spot Miles Morales, Ghost-Spider, Luke Cage, and Daredevil in the background crowd.

The Idea of the Cover

Rosenberg stated that Eminem didn’t hesitate for a moment when he was approached with the idea. The “Beautiful” singer said that he has been a massive Spider-Man fan ever since he was a kid and so being on a book cover rap-battling with Spider-Man is a huge honor and thrilling experience for him. Keri Harris, the Chief Operating Officer, stated that it was a real honor to bring Spider-Man and Eminem together, slinging raps on the limited edition official Marvel variant The Amazing Spider-Man (2022) comic cover. Undoubtedly, fans will be lucky to hold a copy of this highly sought-after collectible.