Variations in Earth’s magnetic field maybe due to ebb and flow of world’s oceans

October 3rd, 2009 WASHINGTON - Scientists have put a certain controversy to rest, by ascertaining that in ancient times, the Earth's magnetic field was structured like the two-pole model of today, which suggests that the methods geoscientists use to reconstruct the geography of early land masses on the globe are accurate. The findings may lead to a better understanding of historical continental movement, which relates to changes in climate.

September 17th, 2009 WASHINGTON - In a new study, scientists have found that auroral bright spots on the planet Jupiter are caused by the magnetosphere of its innermost moon - Ganymede. As Ganymede and Io orbit Jupiter, they interact with regions of plasma and generate electromagnetic waves that are projected along Jupiter's magnetic field lines towards Jupiter's poles where they cause auroral bright spots.

September 11th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Atmospheric scientists from the UCLA (University of California, Los Angeles) have discovered a previously unknown basic mode of energy transfer from the solar wind to the Earth's magnetosphere, a finding that could improve the safety and reliability of spacecraft that operate in the upper atmosphere. "It's like something else is heating the atmosphere besides the sun.

September 7th, 2009 LONDON - In a new research, it has been determined that rocky worlds have to be about the size of Earth to be conducive for life. According to a report in New Scientist, the discovery of extrasolar super-Earths - rocky planets about five to ten times the mass of Earth - has raised hopes that some may harbour life.

September 4th, 2009 WASHINGTON - In a new research, a team of scientists has for the first time observed magnetic monopoles and how they emerge in a real material. The research was done by scientists from the Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin fur Materialien und Energie, Germany, in cooperation with colleagues from Dresden, St.

July 8th, 2009 WASHINGTON - A team of researchers at the Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona (UAB) have come up with a device called a dc metamaterial, which makes objects invisible under certain light. The device does so, according to the researchers, under very low frequency electromagnetic waves by making the inside of the magnetic field zero, but not altering the exterior field.

July 4th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Scientists have performed numerical calculations that show how convective mixing flows in the Earth's liquid outer core can cause the geomagnetic dipole to collapse. For the past 160 years, the Earth's magnetic dipole has been weakening at a rate of nearly six percent per century.

June 24th, 2009 LONDON - Homing pigeons have fascinated humans for many years through their uncanny ability to find their way home from thousands of miles away. Now, researchers claim to have found the reason behind it.

June 24th, 2009 PARIS - Astronomers, using the NARVAL spectropolarimeter of the Bernard-Lyot telescope in France, have obtained the first detection of a magnetic field on the bright star Vega. According to an article in the journal Astronomy and Astrophysics, astronomers clearly observe the magnetically-induced effect in the spectrum of Vega, thereby showing that the star possesses a magnetic field, something unknown so far.

June 23rd, 2009 WASHINGTON - In a new research, scientists at the University of Illinois, US, have determined that a toxic molecule, 'superoxide', known to damage cells and cause disease may also play a pivotal role in bird migration, as it allows them to "see" Earth's magnetic field. According to principal investigator Klaus Schulten, who holds the Swanlund Chair in Physics at Illinois, the discovery occurred as a result of a "mistake" made by a collaborator.

June 20th, 2009 LONDON - A controversial new hypothesis has proposed that oceans' currents are responsible for the slow wandering of the Earth's magnetic poles. According to a report in New Scientist, the theory has been put forward by physicist Gregory Ryskin of Northwestern University in the US.

June 19th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Scientists have created the first-ever comprehensive computer model of sunspots, a breakthrough that will help scientists unlock mysteries of the sun and its impacts on Earth. Sunspots are associated with massive ejections of charged plasma that can cause geomagnetic storms and disrupt communications and navigational systems.

May 29th, 2009 WASHINGTON - The world's largest solar telescope, which can capture the Sun's magnetic field better than other telescopes, is now operational. The new 1.6-meter clear aperture solar telescope, the largest of its kind in the world, is housed at the New Jersey Institute of Technology in Newark, New Jersey, US.

May 16th, 2009 WASHINGTON - A new research has brought environmentally friendly 'magnetic' refrigerators and air conditioning systems a closer to reality. Magnetic refrigeration technology could provide a 'green' alternative to traditional energy-guzzling gas-compression fridges and air conditioners.

May 12th, 2009 WASHINGTON - In a new research, scientists suggest that a "supergiant" asteroid several times larger than the one that likely killed the dinosaurs struck Mars with such force that it shut down the planet's magnetic field. Based on the number of large craters present, scientists think very early Mars suffered 15 or so giant impacts within a span of about a hundred million years.