New Delhi:
Your beautiful Sunday may turn into a beautiful disaster this April 1. Watch out! It’s not April Fool news. Scientists predict a massive magnetic storm may hit the earth and the out-of-control Chinese spaceship TIANGONG-1 is expected to re-enter the atmosphere and crash on Earth on Sunday.
The Tiangong-1 space lab may crash on earth sometime between Saturday night and Sunday evening, according to the European Space Agency (ESA).
The Tiangong-1 or “Heavenly Palace” as named has been floating uncontrolled since the Chinese space agency lost its control in 2016, five years after its launch. The space lab was orbiting at an average height of about 216.2 km and speed of 16,500mph.
However, the space lab stopped sending data and entered its final phase of life on March 16, The China Manned Space Engineering Office, in a statement said.
“It will mostly burn up due to the extreme heat generated by its high-speed passage through the atmosphere,” it said.
On March 26, the ESA had released a map marking in green the probable locations where the out-of-control space lab could crash. Space experts believe that Tiangong could crash anywhere and the exact location can’t be predicted accurately. However, the prediction map includes Indian region.
The scientists said that the plan was to bring the space lab back to Earth through a controlled final descent and make it land safely somewhere in the world’s oceans, the ESA stated.
In yet another prediction, scientists at the Russian Academy of Sciences have said that a massive magnetic storm will hit the earth on March 18 and will bring about some changes to the planet’s geomagnetic atmosphere. This magnetic storm will be the third one to hit the Earth in 2018.
Russian scientists claim, as reported by denofgeek.com, that March 18 magnetic storm may cause headaches, dizziness and sleep disturbances for some people across the globe.
Click here to enter the world of amazing Science
The magnetic storm, also known as the solar storm, is a temporary disturbance caused by a solar wind shock wave of the Earth’s magnetosphere. It generally affects telecommunication systems-upsetting radio communications, causing radar blackouts and disrupting radio navigation system.
The magnetic storm will also affect humans and other living organisms by changing blood flow, blood pressure, and boost adrenalin, according to a report in spacedaily.com.
Meanwhile, the weatherman in India has also forecast heavy rains accompanied by a strong thunderstorm in parts of the country, including West Bengal, beginning Saturday to Sunday.
“Thundersquall accompanied with wind speed between 55 to 65 km per hour is very likely to prevail over the districts of Bankura, Birbhum, East and West Bardhman, Murshidabad, Nadia, Jhargram, Purulia, East and West Midnapore, Howrah, Hooghly, Kolkata and North and South 24 Parganas of south West Bengal on Saturday and Sunday,” Regional Met Director G K Das said.
