NASA spacecraft find "particle accelerator" in Van Allen belts
Posted: Sat, Jul 27, 2013, 10:00 AM ET (1400 GMT)
Twin NASA spacecraft launched last year have helped scientists determine that charged particles in the Van Allen belts circling the Earth are accelerated from within the belts. In a paper published in the latest issue of Science, scientists reported on their ability to track charged particles in the belts using the two Van Allen Probes spacecraft in an effort to identify the source of the particles' acceleration. During one event in October, the probes showed the source of the accelerated particles was in the middle of the belt, extending inward and outward, and not from the outside in. That would be explained by a local source of energy within the belts accelerating the particles, according to scientists.
Twin NASA spacecraft launched last year have helped scientists determine that charged particles in the Van Allen belts circling the Earth are accelerated from within the belts. In a paper published in the latest issue of Science, scientists reported on their ability to track charged particles in the belts using the two Van Allen Probes spacecraft in an effort to identify the source of the particles' acceleration. During one event in October, the probes showed the source of the accelerated particles was in the middle of the belt, extending inward and outward, and not from the outside in. That would be explained by a local source of energy within the belts accelerating the particles, according to scientists.
Related Links:
| <<previous article | next article>> |
|
news in brief
|
|
|
|
news links
|
|
Sunday, November 2
Can the Global South trust Starlink?
NPR — 8:20 am ET (1320 GMT) S. Korea bolsters space surveillance with 5th satellite launch
Korea Herald — 8:18 am ET (1318 GMT) South Korea's 30cm Satellite Completes Surveillance Network
Chosun Ilbo — 8:17 am ET (1317 GMT) Jeff Bezos wants to send people to live in space — here's what it would look like
New York Post — 8:17 am ET (1317 GMT) S. Korea's 5th spy satellite launched on SpaceX rocket in U.S.
Yonhap News — 8:14 am ET (1314 GMT) |
