Subscribe free to our newsletters via your
. 24/7 Space News .




SOLAR SCIENCE
Van Allen belt study reveals surprises
by Staff Writers
Boulder, Colo. (UPI) Feb 28, 2013


disclaimer: image is for illustration purposes only

Researchers say data from NASA space probes has forced a revision of theories about radiation belts around the Earth just a few thousand miles above our heads.

Instruments designed and built by the University of Colorado Boulder have returned new finding on the Van Allen radiation belts -- donut-shaped rings of electrons that encircle the Earth that were one of the first discoveries of the space age.

Two spacecraft launched in 1958 carrying instruments built by James Van Allen showed the presence of two distinct rings of high-energy electrons.

A new NASA mission was launched Aug. 30 to learn more about the belts, which are known to be hazardous to satellites, astronauts and technological systems on Earth.

Just a few days after launch, CU-Boulder researcher said, the instruments on board returned a shocking result: the formation of a third radiation belt.

The instruments initially showed the expected two Van Allen belts, but after a few days the outer ring appeared to compress into an intense, tightly packed electron band and a third, less compact belt of electrons formed further out, creating a total of three rings.

The middle "storage ring" persisted as the belt furthest away from Earth began to decay away until a powerful interplanetary shockwave traveling from the sun virtually annihilated both the storage ring and the rest of the outer belt.

In the following months the Van Allen radiation zones re-formed into the originally expected two-belt structure, researchers said.

"We have no idea how often this sort of thing happens," CU-Boulder researcher Dan Baker said. "This may occur fairly frequently but we didn't have the tools to see it."

The findings could yield better understanding of how and when solar storms can wreak havoc on Earth, researchers said.

"Nature presents us with this event -- it's there, it's a fact, you can't argue with it -- and now we have to explain why it's the case," Shri Kanekal at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., said. "Why did the third belt persist for four weeks? Why does it change? All of this information teaches us more about space."

.


Related Links
Solar Science News at SpaceDaily






Comment on this article via your Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, Hotmail login.

Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle








SOLAR SCIENCE
NASA Deciphering the Mysterious Math of the Solar Wind
Greenbelt MD (SPX) Feb 27, 2013
Many areas of scientific research - Earth's weather, ocean currents, the outpouring of magnetic energy from the sun - require mapping out the large scale features of a complex system and its intricate details simultaneously. Describing such systems accurately, relies on numerous kinds of input, beginning with observations of the system, incorporating mathematical equations to approximate ... read more


SOLAR SCIENCE
Water On The Moon: It's Been There All Along

Building a lunar base with 3D printing

US, Europe team up for moon fly-by

Russia to Launch Lunar Mission in 2015

SOLAR SCIENCE
Lab Instruments Inside Curiosity Eat Mars Rock Powder

First-ever space tourist plans mission to Mars

Mars rover ingests rock powder for tests

Opportunity Is On A Rock Hunt

SOLAR SCIENCE
Stanford scientist closes in on a mystery that impedes space exploration

U.S. research to be free online

NASA Creates Space Technology Mission Directorate

Educator Teams Fly On NASA Sofia Airborne Observatory

SOLAR SCIENCE
Welcome Aboard Shenzhou 10

Reshuffle for Tiangong

China to launch 20 spacecrafts in 2013

Mr Xi in Space

SOLAR SCIENCE
Record Number of Students Control ISS Camera

NASA briefly loses contact with space station

Temporary Comm Loss Interrupts Crew's Day

Low-Gravity Flights Will Aid ISS Fluids and Combustion Experiments

SOLAR SCIENCE
'Faulty Ukrainian Parts' Blamed for Zenit Launch Failure

The light-lift member of Arianespace's launcher family is readied for its second mission

SpaceX 2 Launch Set for March 1

NASA Releases Glory Taurus XL Launch Failure Report Summary

SOLAR SCIENCE
Scientists spot birth of giant planet

NASA's Kepler Mission Discovers Tiny Planet System

Kepler helps astronomers find tiny exo planet

Searching for a Pale Blue SPHERE in the Universe

SOLAR SCIENCE
Ancient Egyptian pigment points to new security ink technology

Laser mastery narrows down sources of superconductivity

In probing mysteries of glass, researchers find a key to toughness

Glasses.com turns heads with 3-D iPad app




The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2014 - Space Media Network. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. Privacy Statement