UCLA scientists have discovered a new source of super-fast, energetic electrons raining down on Earth, a phenomenon that contributes to the colorful aurora borealis but also poses hazards to satellites, spacecraft and astronauts.
Planetary Sciences
Mar 30, 2022
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(Phys.org) —It was a big week for discovery as a Star Trek-like invisible shield was found thousands of miles above Earth—it's in the Van Allen radiation belt and appears to protect the planet below from "killer electrons." ...
A team led by the University of Colorado Boulder has discovered an invisible shield some 7,200 miles above Earth that blocks so-called "killer electrons," which whip around the planet at near-light speed and have been known ...
Space Exploration
Nov 26, 2014
36
3
Since the discovery of the Van Allen radiation belts in 1958, space scientists have believed these belts encircling the Earth consist of two doughnut-shaped rings of highly charged particles—an inner ring of high-energy ...
General Physics
Sep 22, 2013
29
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With the flip of a switch, a pair of instruments designed and built by the University of Colorado Boulder and flying onboard twin NASA space probes have forced the revision of a 50-year-old theory about the structure of the ...
Space Exploration
Feb 28, 2013
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UCLA researchers have explained the puzzling disappearing act of energetic electrons in Earth's outer radiation belt, using data collected from a fleet of orbiting spacecraft.
General Physics
Jan 29, 2012
14
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Scientists using NASA's fleet of THEMIS spacecraft have discovered how radio waves produced by electrons injected into Earth's near-space environment both generate and remove high-speed "killer" electrons.
General Physics
May 7, 2009
6
0
A 60-year-old mystery regarding the source of some energetic and potentially damaging particles in Earth's radiation belts is now solved using data from a shoebox-sized satellite built and operated by University of Colorado ...
Space Exploration
Dec 13, 2017
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954
Earth's radiation belts, two doughnut-shaped regions of charged particles encircling our planet, were discovered more than 50 years ago, but their behavior is still not completely understood. Now, new observations from NASA's ...
Space Exploration
Mar 15, 2017
1
39
Our planet is nestled in the center of two immense, concentric doughnuts of powerful radiation: the Van Allen radiation belts, which harbor swarms of charged particles that are trapped by Earth's magnetic field. On March ...
Space Exploration
Aug 15, 2016
0
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