Bubble – Assistant terrorist – BBC

Heavenly plasma bubble helped the Taliban to shoot down an American helicopter with the military. Scientists believe that such formation in the atmosphere could complicate the conduct of military and rescue operations in the future.

During the “Anaconda” – one of the largest American stocks during an anti-terrorist campaign in Afghanistan – military had to withstand not only the armed units “of al-Qaeda.” As American researchers have found more than ten years later, to help the Islamists in the key moment of the battle came to heaven.

In the early morning of March 4, 2002 on the basis of the military command at Bagram attempted unsuccessfully to contact the crew of the helicopter Chinook, who was heading to the snow-covered top of Thakur Gard. On board was a detachment of 21 soldiers who flew to save the team “sea lion” locked detachment Taliban.

message to be sent to the importance: “Do not sit on top. The mountain is under the control of the enemy! »

It turned out that the crew were originally given the wrong coordinates, but report it due to communication problems and the pilots failed. As a result, the helicopter was fired upon from the ground and fell on the side of the mountain occupied by the enemy. During the 17-hour battle, killing seven American soldiers, which was one of the worst losses for the United States during the Afghan campaign.

high Afghan mountains and had caused problems with the connection to the military, but this time the source of the problem was somewhat higher. As found Michael Kelly of the Applied Physics Laboratory at Johns Hopkins University (USA),

cause steel plasma bubbles that formed in the upper atmosphere and rejected military satellite signals, provides a link .

He wondered about the details of the famous battle, after reading an article about her in the newspaper. “I really did not think there was the impact of cosmic phenomena. But all that we have learned, indicating that, so we started to dig, “- said Kelly, the author of the article published in the journal Space Weather .

plasma bubbles are formed at altitudes 85-595 km in a layer called the ionosphere. At these altitudes the ultraviolet radiation of the sun pulls electrons from the gas molecules, turning them into ions. To maintain these bubbles requires a lot of energy, so the ions begin to recombine, and their number is reduced after sunset. Recombination occurs at low altitudes, where the density of the atmosphere more.

The remaining ions form bubbles up to thousands of kilometers, which, like the air bubbles in the water, bursting at the seams with the speed hundred meters per second.

With the growth of these bubbles cause electromagnetic plasma turbulence that rejects passing therethrough radio wave accurately as refracted light beam passed through the water.

Kelly sure that early in the morning to send an important message is prevented helicopter plasma bubble hovering over Afghanistan. Similar formations occur is not always and not everywhere, but in certain seasons – physicist found that the Battle of Takur Ghar was-it was during the Afghan “season bubbles».

During the operation in the mountains flying over Afghanistan satellite NASA TIMED (Thermosphere Ionosphere Mesosphere Energetics and Dynamics). Data with its ultraviolet cameras have helped scientists to establish that at the time of the operation between the military and satellite communication really originated plasma bubble, which prevented contact.

Although Kelly can not 100% say that it was a bubble led to the loss communication with the helicopter, he was confident that the prediction and the record of such events should be held in the future. “I think it’s a great job, showing that the plasma bubbles may interfere with the operations”, – said Jonathan Makela, an engineer from the University of Illinois.