A strange phenomenon of the Earth’s magnetic field. These are the spooky sounds
Tens of thousands of years ago, there was a major change in the Earth’s magnetic field, when the poles reversed and our magnetosphere almost disappeared for some time. A recording has just appeared showing what it looked like and the strange sounds that accompanied this phenomenon.
Pole reversal 41 thousand years ago
The magnetosphere, the Earth’s magnetic field, has accompanied our planet for 3.7 billion years and protects us against radiation from solar winds and the harmful effects of cosmic rays. From time to time, the Earth’s internal magnetic dynamo weakens and then the magnetic poles may reverse.
The last time this happened on Earth was about 41,000 years ago, when our magnetosphere weakened for several centuries and the magnetic poles changed places. This phenomenon has been named Laschamp event (the name comes from a region in France) and traces of it can be found in the remains of lava flows in ancient times, which showed unnaturally large amounts of certain isotopes that appeared as a result of increased cosmic radiation. Based on the study of certain fossilized tree rings, it was determined that the Earth’s magnetosphere has been reduced to 5% of its current strength. As a result of this phenomenon, solar radiation penetrated the equator, where aurorae (which normally occur at the poles) appeared across its entire length.
The European Space Agency (ESA) has just released a video that shows how the Earth’s magnetosphere was deformed during the Laschamp event. This is an animation that reflects the course of 3,000 years based on data from three Swarm satellites that have been monitoring our magnetosphere since 2013. In the recording, you can clearly hear a strange set of sounds that sound out of this world – which only reflects the enormous influence of various forces were the magnetosphere during the phenomenon.
