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Researchers examining data from a NASA satellite have discovered “portals” in the Earth’s magnetic field.
According to a report from Phys.org, physicist Jack Scudder of the University of Iowa has found what he terms “X-points” in the Earth’s magnetosphere, the magnetic field generated by the planet itself. The magnetosphere protects our planet from harmful radiation, in addition to being the cause of everyday effects like causing compass needles to point north.
Dr. Scudder explains that the X-points are “places where the magnetic field of Earth connects to the magnetic field of the Sun, creating an uninterrupted path leading from our own planet to the sun’s atmosphere 93 million miles away.” Instead of being deflected, these openings in the atmosphere allow solar particles to be conducted into the Earth’s upper atmosphere. These charged particles can be responsible for geomagnetic storms and auroral displays.
According to an earlier report from NASA, these portals have only be recently discovered. “Ten years ago I was pretty sure they didn’t exist, but now the evidence is incontrovertible,” Dr. David Sibeck of the Goddard Spaceflight Center told NASA Science News in 2008.
www.nasa.gov
According to a report from Phys.org, physicist Jack Scudder of the University of Iowa has found what he terms “X-points” in the Earth’s magnetosphere, the magnetic field generated by the planet itself. The magnetosphere protects our planet from harmful radiation, in addition to being the cause of everyday effects like causing compass needles to point north.
Dr. Scudder explains that the X-points are “places where the magnetic field of Earth connects to the magnetic field of the Sun, creating an uninterrupted path leading from our own planet to the sun’s atmosphere 93 million miles away.” Instead of being deflected, these openings in the atmosphere allow solar particles to be conducted into the Earth’s upper atmosphere. These charged particles can be responsible for geomagnetic storms and auroral displays.
According to an earlier report from NASA, these portals have only be recently discovered. “Ten years ago I was pretty sure they didn’t exist, but now the evidence is incontrovertible,” Dr. David Sibeck of the Goddard Spaceflight Center told NASA Science News in 2008.
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