A rocket launch by Elon Musk's SpaceX has punctured a temporary hole in the ionosphere of our planet's atmosphere.
The Falcon 9 rocket was launched from the Vandenberg Space Force Base in California late on July 19, sending it soaring into space at immense speeds.
Pictures of the sky over Flagstaff, Arizona, after the launch showed a faint red glow in the wake of the rocket: a fingerprint of the rocket having punched a hole in the ionosphere.
"This is a well studied phenomenon when rockets are burning their engines 200 to 300 km [around 120 to 190 miles] above Earth's surface," space physicist Jeff Baumgardner, of Boston University, told spaceweather.com.
"I reviewed footage from the July 19th launch," says Baumgardner. "It shows the second stage engine burning at 286 km [178 miles] near the F-region peak for that time of day. So, it is quite possible that an ionospheric 'hole' was made."
The ionosphere is the layer of the atmosphere where space begins, filled with charged particles called ions. It spans between roughly 50 to 400 miles above the surface, NASA explains, and is the reason that geomagnetic storms cause aurora, with solar plasma reacting with the ions to create the spectacular colors seen in the sky.
Fast-moving rockets and their exhaust fumes can alter the ionization of the ionosphere. Rockets spray out water and carbon dioxide as they travel, which can decrease local ionization by up to 70 percent, particularly in the F-layer of the ionosphere. The signature red color of the hole in the ionosphere is a result of oxygen ions reacting with the rocket exhaust, releasing light in the same wavelength as red auroras.
This phenomenon has happened before after Falcon 9 launches, notably in 2017. Ars Technica reported in 2018 that the trajectory of the rocket also contributed to the impact on the ionosphere, creating a 560 mile-wide hole last lasted two to three hours because of the added effect of shockwaves due to the rocket climbing vertically, rather than traveling parallel to the Earth's surface.
The hole in the ionosphere also had some impacts on GPS systems, altering location accuracy by a few feet. This isn't too significant at this time, however.
"Without considering the rocket launch effects, there are errors from ionosphere, troposphere and other factors that will produce up to 20-meter [65-foot] errors or more," Charles C.H. Lin of the National Cheng Kung University in Taiwan, told Ars Technica in 2018.
In the future, with increasingly powerful rockets, it's possible that the impact of launches on the ionosphere may be worsened, leading to more significant impacts on GPS.
"Human are entering an era that rocket launches are becoming usual and frequent due to reduced cost by reusable rockets," Lin said. "Meanwhile, humans are developing more powerful rockets to send cargoes to other planets. These two factors will gradually affect the middle and upper atmosphere more, and that is worthwhile to pay some attention to."
Other recent rocket launches that have created a wound in the ionosphere include the launch of Taiwan's FORMOSAT-5 satellite, which tore a California-sized hole, and in June 2022, when the Falcon 9 burst through once again.
Do you have a tip on a science story that Newsweek should be covering? Do you have a question about the ionosphere? Let us know via science@newsweek.com.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Jess Thomson is a Newsweek Science Reporter based in London UK. Her focus is reporting on science, technology and healthcare. ... Read more
To read how Newsweek uses AI as a newsroom tool, Click here.
