In May 2024, the Earth was beaten by the greatest solar storm in two decades, which caused spectacular dawn in very unusual latitudes and disturbances in communications networks and half -world GPS systems. But the thing does not … It ended there. Thanks to a small and unexpectedly ‘resurrected’ satellite of NASA, in effect, scientists have just discovered that the storm also created two new temporal radiation belts around our planet.
The finding, just published in ‘Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics’, It is a real revolution in our understanding of how solar activity interacts with the earth’s magnetic field, which has implications for satellite safety, astronauts in orbit and future space missions.
The radiation belts surrounding the Earth, known as ‘Van Allen Belt’ are donut -shaped regions full of loaded particles, mainly electrons and high -energy protons, trapped by the Earth’s magnetic field. These belts, discovered in 1958 by the Explorer 1 mission, are a challenge for space missions, since high -energy particles have the ability to damage satellites and endanger astronauts. Reasons that explain more than over the importance of understanding its dynamics
The inner belt, located between 600 and 6,000 kilometers of altitude, mainly contains high energy protons, while the outer belt, which extends between 13,500 and 60,000 kilometers, is mostly composed of electrons.
But nobody expected what finally happened in May 2024. The massive wave of loaded particles thrown by the sun against the Earth, in effect, not only caused spectacular dawn and disturbances in GPS communications, but generated two new temporary belts of radiation , just between the two Van Allen belts permanent. These new belts, with the form of concentric and located rings on the Earth’s Ecuador, were formed after the storm and have turned out to be much more durable than expected.
Unique characteristics
The truth is that temporary belts are not a completely new phenomenon, but had already been observed before, normally after large solar events. However, those of 2024 have a whole series of unique characteristics. First, the most internal of the two not only contained electrons, such as the temporary belts observed above, but also a significant amount of protons. This mixed composition had not been seen before in temporary belts and is probably related to the intensity and composition of the solar storm. According to researchers, it is as if the storm had ‘injected’ a new mixture of particles in the magnetic field of our planet.
Second, the new belts have proven to be much more persistent than those previously observed, and compared to the three or four weeks that the temporal belts usually last, one of the two new ones, the compound mainly by electrons, remained for more Three months, while the other, which also includes protons, lasted even more and is very likely that even existing today.
We can imagine that radiation belts are like particle rivers. The temporary belts observed so far were like summer streams, which flow quickly and dry out soon. But those of May 2024, on the other hand, are like authentic rivers, caudalous and persistent, which take much more to disappear.
A lucky discovery
The discovery was possible thanks to the Cirbe Satellite (Colorado Inner Radiation Belt Experiment), a small cubesat of the size of a shoe box. Designed and built by the Laboratory of Atmospheric and Space Physics (LASP) of the University of Colorado Boulder, he carried an instrument called Reptile-2 (relativistic electron Proton Telescope Integrated Little Experiment-2), a miniaturized and improved version of an instrument of an instrument that I had already flown aboard NASA’s Van Allen probes, which first discovered a temporary electrons belt in 2013.
Cirbe’s story is particularly interesting. After a year in space, the Cubesat experienced an anomaly and stopped transmitting precisely on April 15, 2024. The scientists regretted to lose the opportunity to record the solar storm that happened in May but, fortunately, on June 15 the satellite He returned to life unexpectedly and resumed the measurement. The data provided by Cirbe were crucial, since they offered information in high resolution that no other instrument could provide, which allowed scientists to understand the true magnitude of the new belts. According to the authors of the study, it is as if the satellite had been ‘sleeping’ during the storm and had ‘awakened’ just in time to see its consequences.
The duration of these belts will also depend on the future solar storms. The largest and most energetic, in effect, can ‘sweep’ the particles they are made, sending them both to space and towards earth. In fact, a solar storm at the end of June and another in August 2024 significantly reduced the electron belt size, although a small population of high -energy electrons managed to persist. It is as if the solar storms were ‘waves’ capable of eroding radiation belts.
The discovery, therefore, is of great importance for the protection of the spacecraft that are thrown into geostationary orbits, since these must cross Van Allen’s belts several times before reaching their final orbit. Therefore, understanding the dynamics of these belts, including the formation of temporary belts, is essential to design satellites more resistant to radiation and to plan the flight paths of the manned missions.
Finally, the finding will help us better understand the complex interaction between the sun and the earth, which is essential to predict and mitigate the effects of future solar storms. In an increasingly dependent on space technology, this research is crucial to improve the safety of our satellites and astronauts.
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