Variations of geomagnetic activity with lunar phase

Stolov, Harold L.; Cameron, A. G. W.

doi:10.1029/jz069i023p04975

Cited by 32 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 11 publications

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“…It is this correlation that the proponents of a lunar effect have universally disregarded in their analyses. Bell and Defouw [1964] and Bigg [1963a] realized that such an effect was possible or even probable, but decided it was insignificant after only a cursory analysis, whereas Stolov and Cameron [1964] did not even mention the possibility of such an effect.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The lunar period, the solar period, andK_p

Rassbach¹,

Dessler²,

Cameron³

1966

J. Geophys. Res.

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The variation of geomagnetic activity with the phase of the moon has been tested for statistical significance. The fluctuations in Kp, at the lunar period are typical of the periods near it and in fact are within one standard deviation of the average fluctuation amplitude. Furthermore, these Kp fluctuations appear to be due to the sun. The so‐called 27‐day peak due to the sun (the well‐known M‐region effect) has a width of about a week and thus is not a sharp peak but contributes to periods between about 24 and 31 days. Any narrow‐banded detection system, such as the superposed epoch analysis, will sense the solar effect anywhere within this broad interval. The 29.5‐day lunar period falls within the interval; Kp analyses at the lunar period should take into account the nonrandom variation in Kp caused by the broad solar peak. It is shown that previous analyses concluding that there is a significant lunar‐Kp effect have treated the data so as to disregard the possible solar origin of the effects found. When the solar peak is included in the analyses, the hypothesized lunar effect falls well within the limits of chance occurrence. We conclude that the available data do not indicate any statistically significant lunar influence on geomagnetic activity; the effect at 29.53‐days periodicity that had been attributed to the moon is actually due to the sun.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In the same issue of the Journal of Geophysical Research, Stolov and Cameron [1964] published a superposed epoch analysis of the percent deviation of the 3-hourly K^1s from the average for that lunar month. They compared the excursion length and area* of this result to those of some randomized data.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

The lunar period, the solar period, andK_p

Rassbach¹,

Dessler²,

Cameron³

1966

J. Geophys. Res.

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“…This is a distance of approximately 4 RE. There is no evidence for a lunar effect on geomagnetic activity during disturbed periods (Stolov and Cameron, 1964). Previous attempts to measure a lunar magnetic field (Dolginov et al, 1961) have indicated that if such a field exists it must be less than 50-100 gammas at the surface.…”

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confidence: 98%

“…Davidson and Martyn (1964) and Michel et al (1964) were, however, unable to find any dependence Of terrestrial magnetic activity on lunar phase. Meanwhile both Bell and Defouw (1964) and Stolov and Cameron (1964) independently reported finding a decrease of geomagnetic disturbance for several days before full moon and an increase for several days after full moon during the last 31 years. Both the decrease and the increase amounted to approximately 4%.…”

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confidence: 99%

Magnetic storms in the Earth's magnetic tail

Behannon

Ness²

1966

J. Geophys. Res.

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“…In Michel et al (1964), the authors studied the correlation between the Kp index of geomagnetic activity and 30-year period Moon data phases starting from 1931 and found no correlation. However, using the same data for solar activity cycles 17-19, Stolov and Cameron (1964) found that Kp decreases relative to the average value over several days before the full Moon and increases by the same value over several days after the full Moon. In addition, Gulyaev and Gulyaeva (1992) reported increases in the geomagnetic field disturbances during the full Moon at the solar activity minimum using the auroral electrojet index.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

New perspectives on contributing factors to the monthly behavior of the aa geomagnetic index

Mendoza

Pazos

González

2016

Earth Planets Space

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We studied the Aa geomagnetic index (aa index daily average) behavior on a monthly timescale using data from 1868 to 2015 for cycles 11-24. We identified solar-and lunar-associated periodicities in the Aa time series and found statistically significant Aa minima values a few days before the full Moon and high Aa values during the new Moon. When considering all the cycles, it was clear that the deepest Aa minima occurred during the Aa descending activity phase. However, when the cycles were separated according to the direction of the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF), the Aa minima came from the contribution of cycles with the IMF pointing toward the Sun (Type 1). Furthermore, during the descending phase of cycles with the IMF pointing away from the Sun (Type 2), the smallest Aa index values were found along with smaller changes compared to Type 1 cases. This behavior implies that during Type 1 cycles there are larger Aa perturbations than during Type 2 cycles. It is very likely that the mechanisms responsible for the Aa monthly behavior are a combination of solar and lunar effects that depend on several factors: (a) the Moon phases (new and full Moon), (b) the phase of the solar cycle (ascending or descending), and (c) the direction of the interplanetary magnetic field (away or toward the Sun).

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Variations of geomagnetic activity with lunar phase

Cited by 32 publications

References 11 publications

The lunar period, the solar period, andK_p

The lunar period, the solar period, andK_p

Magnetic storms in the Earth's magnetic tail

New perspectives on contributing factors to the monthly behavior of the aa geomagnetic index

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Variations of geomagnetic activity with lunar phase

Cited by 32 publications

References 11 publications

The lunar period, the solar period, andKp

The lunar period, the solar period, andKp

Magnetic storms in the Earth's magnetic tail

New perspectives on contributing factors to the monthly behavior of the aa geomagnetic index

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About

The lunar period, the solar period, andK_p

The lunar period, the solar period, andK_p