On October 16 last year , the Sun turn red over the southern United Kingdom . People across the country document the foreign phenomenon onsocial medium .
meteorologist image out the cause pretty quickly — plume of dust from the Sahara desert and the Iberian Peninsula got caught in a cyclone from Hurricane Ophelia . The debris became negatively electrically charge on its way up to the UK , where it partially obscure the Sun , turning it a wispy red - orange . New research present the issue from an depth psychology of the plume , and the findings might facilitate amend weather prediction in the future .
The team from the University of Reading and University of Bath in the United Kingdom respect the dust cloud from several British weather condition observatories , which were able-bodied to sample the debris and measure how laser light bounced off of it . A lightning detector from one of the sites was also capable to measure the increase electric charge of the cloud .
First , how the junk change state the Sun red : “ The reddening of the sunshine arises from preferential scatter of gloomy Light Within , as light is attenuated within the optically thick plume , ” according to the paper published in Environmental Research Letters . The dust prefers to scatter some color of sunlight over others ( and weakens the brightness ) , result in the redder - look Sun .
All of these combined factor could be crucial for taste to predict the weather ( something that , as we ’ve pronounce before , is not easy ) . These particles may have influenced the clouds form that day , according to the paper . fall particles , as well as their observed electrical charge , might collect more water supply molecule — water system particle are shape such that they have a lot more charge on one side of the molecule than the other , so they have a leaning to cling to things . Indeed , one of the observation land site did measure a descending cloud during the menstruum after the debris clouds arrive , though correlation is not causing .
Plumes of debris unremarkably hold back electric cathexis due to hit and friction between the speck , according to the theme . But see the grandness of aerosol can particles like these to the weather ( they can become the seeds of cloud ) , their electrical charge is something deserving study more . Even the Large Hadron Collider has an experiment that measures how different properties of dust particles , like their size of it and composition , can affect clouds . According to the new paper , “ Whilst electrical properties of dust have long been observed , its electrical effects are not conceive in atmospheric numerical good example . ”
finally , it ’s a meteorologist ’s business to predict the weather condition . But if there ’s one matter you take away from any atmospheric condition - relate story , it ’s that , well , the weather is often a very difficult aperient problem . So be nice to your local weatherperson if they ’re give birth worry giving you a good prognosis . Who bonk what unusual physics are get in the path .
[ Environmental Research LettersviaPhysics World ]
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