Lightning Phenomena
[we need much more info here on what students can do with
their data]
Picking up Gamma Ray Bursts
On 27 December, 2004, Stanford ionospheric researchers detected the largest
gamma-ray burst ever recorded. It came from a magnetar -- a neutron star with
an enormous magnetic field -- some 50,000 light years away. Its powerful rays
penetrated deep into the Earth's ionosphere where effects were captured by
VLF receivers similar to the AWESOMEs.
Gamma-ray bursts are short-lived explosions of gamma-ray photons, the
most energetic form of light. Some of them are associated with a supernovae,
marking the deaths of especially massive stars. Lasting anywhere from a few
milliseconds to several minutes, gamma-ray bursts shine hundreds of times
brighter than a typical supernova and about a million trillion times as bright
as the Sun.
Enormous gamma-ray flares such as the December one affect
our lower ionosphere to such a massive degree that, by watching and measuring
its response to and recovery from the flare, we learn about the dynamics of
these upper atmospheric regions. The full story about this event can be found
at
Big gamma-ray flare from star disturbs Earth's ionosphere
Gamma ray bursts are rare and spontaneous events. We wouldn't
expect students to use their AWESOMEs solely to wait for these to occur. However,
if your students pick up a significant and unexplained change to the ionosphere,
they may have detected a gamma ray burst. See Gamma-ray
Burst Real-time Sky Map to check lists of current and known gamma ray
bursts.
