NASA captures gravity waves from Hurricane Helene in Florida
On September 26, 2024, when Hurricane Helene ravaged Florida’s Gulf Coast, it caused significant storm surge, affecting numerous communities in the region. During these extreme weather events, NASA’s Atmospheric Waves Experiment (AWE), stationed aboard the International Space Station, observed gravitational waves in the atmosphere about 90 kilometers above the Earth’s surface. This data, collected as part of NASA’s space weather research, aims to shed light on how Earth’s weather affects technological systems such as satellites and communications networks.
Observations from NASA’s AWE Instrument
As the International Space Station transited the southeastern United States, the AWE instrument recorded large concentric waves in the atmosphere from the intense conditions caused by Hurricane Helene. These gravitational waves, which appear as artificially colored bands of red, yellow and blue, reflected changes in radiation in Earth’s mesosphere. The images, enhanced with color highlight variations in infrared brightness caused by airglow, captured waves extending westward from northern Florida.
Meaning of Atmospheric Gravitational Waves
According to Ludger Scherliessprincipal investigator of NASA’s AWE at Utah State University, the waves resemble the ripples created when a pebble hits the surface of a pond. The instrument, launched in November 2023, is designed to identify these atmospheric disturbances, including storms, hurricanes and other violent weather events that cause gravitational waves. The analysis of such atmospheric changes, caused during turbulent weather, provides essential insights into how terrestrial events influence conditions in space.
Research implications for NASA
Hurricane Helene’s gravitational waves are among the first images released to the public by the AWE mission. Through these observations, NASA seeks to understand how Earth’s weather systems affect the upper atmosphere and space weather. The AWE instrument’s ability to detect these disruptions contributes to ongoing research and strengthens NASA’s efforts to assess the potential disruptions to orbiting systems.
