1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:11,000 I'm not telling Jacob about this one. 2 00:00:11,000 --> 00:00:22,000 Thanks RJ, and good work. I thought I lost you for a few minutes, but I understand when nature calls. Over. 3 00:00:22,000 --> 00:00:26,000 Well, I got lucky. My hypothesis is correct after all. 4 00:00:26,000 --> 00:00:29,000 I think it was more than just luck. You did good research. 5 00:00:29,000 --> 00:00:34,000 We all did good research. Now all we need to do is plan our geocache and complete our assignment. 6 00:00:34,000 --> 00:00:40,000 Let's not congratulate ourselves just yet. RJ said that Noah might be able to confirm our hypothesis further. 7 00:00:40,000 --> 00:00:43,000 That's true. You don't always know for certain that you're 100% correct. 8 00:00:43,000 --> 00:00:46,000 Right, but hopefully they'll be able to help us get closer to the answer. 9 00:00:46,000 --> 00:00:51,000 Let's plan our cache and wait for Tony's report from Noah. I'm ready for coordinates. 10 00:00:51,000 --> 00:01:02,000 North 37. 11 00:01:02,000 --> 00:01:07,000 I'm meeting with Mr. Joe Cunches, who works with Noah and the Space Environment Center here in Boulder, Colorado. 12 00:01:07,000 --> 00:01:10,000 He studies space weather and how to predict it. 13 00:01:10,000 --> 00:01:15,000 Hopefully he can tell us whether there was any solar activity the day we experienced the problem with our GPS. 14 00:01:15,000 --> 00:01:23,000 Space weather refers to conditions near the Earth that affect man-made technologies such as satellites and other human activities. 15 00:01:23,000 --> 00:01:25,000 That's why it's so important to predict space weather. 16 00:01:25,000 --> 00:01:29,000 Right. Satellites were once rare and mostly government-owned. 17 00:01:29,000 --> 00:01:32,000 But today they are more numerous and many are commercially owned. 18 00:01:32,000 --> 00:01:36,000 So that's why it's important to know where and when they may be affected. 19 00:01:36,000 --> 00:01:42,000 Right. Satellites are very important in our lives and also a nice addition to a well-balanced portfolio. 20 00:01:42,000 --> 00:01:48,000 We generally depend on satellites for weather information, television, communication and navigation. 21 00:01:48,000 --> 00:01:52,000 We have learned about predicting weather here on Earth, but how do you predict space weather? 22 00:01:52,000 --> 00:01:57,000 Predictions are made primarily using data from satellites that monitor the sun. 23 00:01:57,000 --> 00:02:06,000 For example, NOAA's GOES and POSE satellites help forecasters know atmospheric conditions at low Earth orbits and higher up. 24 00:02:06,000 --> 00:02:08,000 Do you work with NASA satellites as well? 25 00:02:08,000 --> 00:02:18,000 Yes. NASA's ACE satellite samples the solar wind and SOHO allows forecasters to see the solar eruptions that cause space weather. 26 00:02:18,000 --> 00:02:20,000 Are there other ways to monitor space weather? 27 00:02:20,000 --> 00:02:30,000 Yes. We use data from the ground-based observatories run by the United States Air Force as well as the magnetometer network run by the United States Geological Survey. 28 00:02:30,000 --> 00:02:32,000 What is a magnetometer? 29 00:02:32,000 --> 00:02:40,000 A magnetometer is an instrument that measures the behavior of the Earth's magnetic field and tells forecasters when a magnetic storm is developing. 30 00:02:40,000 --> 00:02:43,000 Wow. You have a lot of data to monitor. How do you get it all? 31 00:02:43,000 --> 00:02:51,000 We get data through the Internet, dedicated telephone lines and email. We also have our own antennas that receive data. 32 00:02:51,000 --> 00:02:53,000 And once you have the data, you have to analyze it. 33 00:02:53,000 --> 00:02:59,000 Forecasters continually monitor the space environment to provide short-term, three-day predictions. 34 00:02:59,000 --> 00:03:04,000 They don't have daily space weather predictions on the news, so who receives your forecasts? 35 00:03:04,000 --> 00:03:11,000 The alerts go to a number of places such as private and commercial users as well as other government agencies such as NASA. 36 00:03:11,000 --> 00:03:13,000 Do you send out alerts often? 37 00:03:13,000 --> 00:03:20,000 It varies depending on the time of the solar cycle, but usually we average 20 to 30 alerts per week. 38 00:03:20,000 --> 00:03:21,000 What's a solar cycle? 39 00:03:21,000 --> 00:03:27,000 As you know, the Earth's weather changes over time with different seasons. The sun's weather does, too. 40 00:03:27,000 --> 00:03:31,000 The changes on the sun are caused by the reversal of its magnetic poles. 41 00:03:31,000 --> 00:03:34,000 I didn't realize that the poles of the sun switched. 42 00:03:34,000 --> 00:03:39,000 Over an 11-year period, the reversal of the sun's poles completes half of its cycle. 43 00:03:39,000 --> 00:03:46,000 During this time, the number of sunspots seen on the surface of the sun goes from high to low and then back again. 44 00:03:46,000 --> 00:03:47,000 Sounds intense. 45 00:03:47,000 --> 00:03:53,000 Yes. The period with lots of sunspots is intense and is called sunspot maximum. 46 00:03:53,000 --> 00:03:56,000 The period with fewer sunspots is called sunspot minimum. 47 00:03:56,000 --> 00:04:02,000 So during a sunspot maximum, there would be more solar flares and coronal mass ejections. 48 00:04:02,000 --> 00:04:08,000 We would see increased auroras and more disturbances in the ionosphere, causing problems with the satellite systems. 49 00:04:08,000 --> 00:04:10,000 Good job. I think you have it. 50 00:04:10,000 --> 00:04:15,000 But remember that even during a sunspot minimum, there can still be lots of interference. 51 00:04:15,000 --> 00:04:17,000 If you don't mind, I have one last question. 52 00:04:17,000 --> 00:04:19,000 Sure. What's your question? 53 00:04:19,000 --> 00:04:26,000 We're fairly certain that our GPS devices went crazy while we were geocaching due to a solar flare or space weather event that affected the ionosphere. 54 00:04:26,000 --> 00:04:29,000 Is there any way we can be sure that was the cause? 55 00:04:29,000 --> 00:04:35,000 We can find out if an alert was issued for that date, but not if the storm affected your GPS device. 56 00:04:35,000 --> 00:04:36,000 That makes sense. 57 00:04:36,000 --> 00:04:39,000 Let's go over to the computer and check out the website. 58 00:04:40,000 --> 00:04:46,000 You can find out all about space weather and geomagnetic storms when you visit NOAA's Space Environment Center website. 59 00:04:49,000 --> 00:04:52,000 NOAA confirmed that there was an alert while we were geocaching. 60 00:04:52,000 --> 00:04:55,000 We can't be certain, but we may have solved another mystery. 61 00:04:55,000 --> 00:04:58,000 Of course, I'm sending my report to the Trias detectives. 62 00:04:58,000 --> 00:05:01,000 Hopefully, they will get it before they go to pick up Dr. D from the airport. 63 00:05:02,000 --> 00:05:04,000 Look, it's Dr. D. 64 00:05:07,000 --> 00:05:09,000 Hi, Dr. D. We solved our mystery. 65 00:05:09,000 --> 00:05:10,000 That's great. 66 00:05:10,000 --> 00:05:12,000 Did it have anything to do with batteries? 67 00:05:12,000 --> 00:05:13,000 That's funny. 68 00:05:13,000 --> 00:05:15,000 Dr. Udenwald mentioned the same thing. 69 00:05:15,000 --> 00:05:18,000 We did have a small battery problem, but not with our GPS. 70 00:05:18,000 --> 00:05:20,000 Batteries aren't the problem. 71 00:05:20,000 --> 00:05:22,000 Remembering to check them can be. 72 00:05:22,000 --> 00:05:23,000 Right. 73 00:05:23,000 --> 00:05:28,000 To solve our GPS problem, we actually researched electricity, magnetism, and solar energy. 74 00:05:28,000 --> 00:05:33,000 To solve our GPS problem, we actually researched electricity, magnetism, space weather, and auroras. 75 00:05:33,000 --> 00:05:36,000 We've learned all about how GPSs work. 76 00:05:36,000 --> 00:05:40,000 It's amazing how many new things we can learn while we're trying to find the solution to our problem. 77 00:05:40,000 --> 00:05:43,000 I was thinking about your problem as I was watching the auroras in Norway. 78 00:05:43,000 --> 00:05:50,000 It appears to me that the same space weather events that influenced the auroras probably also affected your GPS. 79 00:05:50,000 --> 00:05:52,000 Dr. D, why didn't you tell us earlier? 80 00:05:52,000 --> 00:05:54,000 We came to the same conclusion. 81 00:05:54,000 --> 00:05:56,000 Isn't it more fun to find the solution yourself? 82 00:05:56,000 --> 00:05:59,000 Great. Antoni's report from Colorado finally nailed it down. 83 00:05:59,000 --> 00:06:08,000 Dr. Udenwald told us that storms on the sun can affect the ionosphere in ways that slow down the GPS signal so that the receiver reads the false distance. 84 00:06:08,000 --> 00:06:12,000 Antoni told us that there had been a space weather advisory the day that we had the problems. 85 00:06:12,000 --> 00:06:17,000 But don't worry, Dr. D. We know that that doesn't necessarily mean the storm caused the problem. 86 00:06:17,000 --> 00:06:19,000 But it is a very possible solution. 87 00:06:19,000 --> 00:06:22,000 Did you consider a multi-path signal error? 88 00:06:22,000 --> 00:06:23,000 What's that? 89 00:06:23,000 --> 00:06:28,000 Is it an accuracy cause when the GPS signals bounce off of buildings or large rock surfaces? 90 00:06:28,000 --> 00:06:33,000 Well, we weren't around any buildings and I don't remember seeing any large rocks. 91 00:06:33,000 --> 00:06:38,000 I don't mean to alarm you. I really think your explanation is probably the best in this situation. 92 00:06:38,000 --> 00:06:41,000 I'm just trying to keep you on your toes. 93 00:06:41,000 --> 00:06:45,000 Thanks, Dr. D. Can you tell us about the auroras that you saw? What colors were they? 94 00:06:45,000 --> 00:06:47,000 Did they really dance around in the sky? 95 00:06:47,000 --> 00:06:50,000 Yes, they did. Let's take one question at a time. 96 00:06:50,000 --> 00:06:56,000 The colors of the auroras were absolutely wonderful. Mostly kind of a pale green, a little red around the corners. 97 00:07:51,000 --> 00:07:57,000 The auroras were absolutely wonderful. Mostly kind of a pale green, a little red around the corners. 98 00:07:57,000 --> 00:08:01,000 Mostly kind of a pale green, a little red around the corners.