Van Allen radiation belts during an extremely rare solar wind event

Van Allen radiation belts during an extremely rare solar wind event

Earth is embedded in the always-expanding atmosphere of the Sun, called the solar wind, which blows past planets to the edge of the Solar System. Solar wind is typically supersonic, faster than the speed of sound, and when it encounters planets, like Earth, a shock…

SAMPEX – Earth’s radiation belts

SAMPEX – Earth’s radiation belts

This is a simulation of the Earth’s radiation belts constructed from SAMPEX data around the time of the 2003 Halloween solar storms. In this visualization, we present the belts in cross-section to provide a better view of their interior structure.The Earth’s

Antiproton ring found around Earth

Antiproton ring found around Earth

Antiprotons appear to ring the Earth, confined by the planet's magnetic field lines. The antimatter, which may persist for minutes or hours before annihilating with normal matter, could in theory be used to fuel ultra-efficient rockets of the future.Charged particle