Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey
Campus Guadalajara
Noctilucent – NASA Project
Tatiana Lissete Barragán Chávez 1084592
Manuel Alejandro García Gutiérrez 1083156
Asael Castillo Acosta 1130089
Daniel Carrillo Vara 366061
Néstor Hugo de Haro1083850
Marco Antonio Padilla 1084412
Group: 1
Gloria Elena Faus
AP Herat
13 of March of 2007
Noctilucent – NASA Project- AP Heart
This investigation has been divided in two problems, so we can have more accurate information about it. This will be useful in order to have our goals well defined and give answers to the Calipso trial. We have defined two hypotheses to develop our investigation in two phases so we can have better answers to the Calipso Project.
Problem 1
We do not know why the noctilucent clouds are more frequently seen in summer.
Since the industrial revolution there has been an increment in the amount of contaminants that pollute the sky. At the same time, there were the first registers of the emergences of a relative new phenomenon at the sky. Some strange clouds which are very different than the normal clouds. These new clouds are called Noctilucent clouds, and they are seen more frequently during the summer time at the latitudes 50 and 60 (Philips, 2003). They also are located at a height of 80km in the mesosphere. Therefore, it results complicated to establish an explication of this phenomenon that clarify these constant apparitions during summer. In order to be able to find a logical explication of this observable fact, it will be necessary to know much information like: movements of earth (rotational movement and transnational movement), properties of light and also the angles of incidence of the sun rays on earth. So, the problem lies on the unknown origin of the periodical apparition of Noctilucent clouds in summer.
Hypothesis:
It could be possible that the translational movement of the earth around the sun affects the incidence of the sun rays at the North Pole that make that the noctilucent clouds can be seen?.
Dependent Variable:
The angle of incidence of the sun rays at the North Pole between the latitudes 50 and 60.
Independent variable:
The translational movement of earth around the sun.
Research
These clouds appear more frequently during summer time because the sun rays hit mostly the northern hemisphere. They are seen between 50° north and 60°north altitudes. On June 21 or 22, the summer solstice occurs and the pole north receives more light than the southern hemisphere. At this season, the North Pole of earth is inclined 23.5°.
Since the earth axis is disposed 23.5° toward the sun in summer, the sun rays hit the cancer tropical, which is situated at 23.5° of altitude, with an incident angle of 90°.
Now, with the previous information it is possible to find the angle in which the sun rays touch the 50° and 60° north altitudes.
Now, as we already know that sun rays hit the noctilucent cloud with an angle of 63.5° at an altitude of 60°. According with the laws of reflection, the angle of incidence is equal to the angle of refraction. It can be known that the angle of observation of the observer is 26.5° above the horizon.
Problem 2
Every day, earth is getting hotter and hotter because of the global warming. The global warming is caused by the excess of pollutants that humanscreate.This pollution makes that noctilucent clouds reflect the solar beams which the Earth had already reflected outside, so these clouds act as a mirror which is going to put the sun rays again inside the Earth and cause the global warming. Therefore, it is needed to know if the noctilucent cloudschemical composition can trap the solar rays in order to be part of the global warming.
Hypothesis
The noctilucent clouds are affected by pollution, so the solar beams incident-angle inclination will make these clouds to participate into the global warming.
Dependent variable:
The solar beams are involved in the global warming, and if the noctilucent clouds are affected by the pollution.
Independent variable:
The pollution is produced by humankind and animals.
Solving the problem
It is known that the noctilucent clouds are formed of nucleation (small dust particles), water molecules, and methane. In summer time the humidity increases, therefore the water vapor is taken to the mesosphere where the methane is located. It is also known that the noctilucent clouds are 85 kilometers above the Earth, so this information give us it localized into the mesosphere where the temperature is 140 K.
Noctilucent clouds contain water vapor and methane and they are situated in the mesosphere; but everything started with the production of methane by livestock farming and production of fossil fuels, which fly into the atmosphere and later to the mesosphere, where it will mix with water vapor to convert them into ice crystals (which in summer usually understands of -0°C to -90°C).
Noctilucent clouds are involved into the greenhouse effect (Global Warming); consequently, ice particles act as mirror when the sun rays are approached to them. As it is known solar beams are going to be reflected into the Earth again.
Global warming gases help in the diminish power in the reflection of solar rays because CO2 absorbs energy in the atmosphere, and this amount of CO2 makes that the half of the energy could not return into the space, causing warming.
This research team concludes that the noctilucent clouds are really involved into the global warming, but also it is necessary to establish that the greenhouse effect depends of how long does the noctilucent cloud is.
Finally, the question which ask if the noctilucent clouds are involved into the global warming can be answered with a trustily yes.
Noctilucent Clouds Composition
The most recent investigations of Noctilucent clouds, have discovered that these clouds are composed and have the same structure of plasma blankets, very similar to the ones that we can see in the planetary rings and other cosmic places. The plasma is related to high energy sources, and these ones in the mesosphere are charged with the earth’s magnetic field that can be find in the North Pole. In a lightning stroke an oxygen-nitrogen plasma is heated at approximately 20,000 K with an ionization of about 20 percent making 200, 000 Volts. With these we can see an example of the plasma energy.
Some elements that composed the noctilucent clouds, have the ability to refract the photons of the solar beams into many directions, also changing their frequency and spectrum, making different types of colors and shapes.
These Clouds also have parts of nucleation, dust little particles. ice and water and some carbon components.
The ice in these clouds also makes a reflection of the solar beams, making colors and shapes; the ice is one of the most important components that helps reflect the photons.
This image show us the different chains that the Carbon can make, so when methane and other hydrocarbons that comes from the pollution mix with the noctilucent clouds make components that can discompose the light making very shining colors and shapes
Bibliography
Philips, Tony. “Strange Clouds”. Science.nasa.gov 2003. NASA. 16 Nov. 2006. <
"plasma." Encyclopædia Britannica. 2007. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. 13 Mar. 2007
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"noctilucent cloud." Encyclopædia Britannica. 2007. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. 13 Mar. 2007
Jeff Thayer. Noctilucent Clouds, Pdf- Web, United States ,11 of March 2007:
Von Zahn, U. (2003), Are Noctilucent Clouds Truly a “Miner's Canary” for Global Change?, Eos Trans. March 12 2007, 261: