Well , here ’s something cosmic to be grateful for this weekend . A NASA - take subject area of the Van Allen radiation belts has uncovered unexampled data about the inconspicuous “ shield ” that keeps harmful ultrarelativistic electron from the Earth .
In a field of study write in Nature , scientists from MIT and the University of Colorado at Boulder detail their analysis of data from NASA ’s Van Allen Probes , which are studying the radiation syndrome belt around Earth — just last yr , the probes reported the existence of a new , previously - unknown third beltthousands of international mile above the Earth . In short , these craft are sending back vital information about the space around our planet . And in Nature this workweek , we institute out even more .
In the study , we learn about the existence of a hard barrier at the bottom of the outermost belt , about 7,000 international mile above Earth , and something visit “ plasmaspheric hiss . ” This layer of electromagnetic wave break the high - energy electrons zinging around the Earth from really getting penny-pinching to it . MIT Newsexplains that the “ hiss ” in the phenomenon ’s name is actually due to the sound the Wave make over the radio , and that they keep us safe from otherwise quite dangerous radiation :
base on their data and calculations , the researchers believe that plasmaspheric hiss essentially deflects incoming negatron , causing them to collide with neutral gas atoms in the Earth ’s upper atmosphere , and ultimately melt . This natural , impenetrable roadblock seems to be extremely rigid , keeping eminent - energy electrons from coming no closer than about 2.8 Earth radii — or 11,000 kilometers from the Earth ’s surface .
In the MIT report , John Foster , associate director of MIT ’s Haystack Observatory , report the discovery of this shield as “ a very unusual , extraordinary , and pronounced phenomenon , ” since it ’s rare to notice such a acute stop in the ambience . He added that the discovery tells us more about what ballistic capsule and human race can endure many miles above the Earth .
plenteousness of news outlets compare the phenomenon to Star Trek , but in this particular pillow slip , the reality is even cooler than the tonic culture equivalent . We ’ll stick with the “ hiss . ” [ Nature;MIT intelligence ]
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