Latest news with #ColoradoInnerRadiationBeltExperiment
Yahoo
12-02-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Earth grew an extra, never-before-seen 'radiation belt' after last year's supercharged solar storm — and it's probably still there
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. Earth grew a pair of extra "radiation belts" after a supercharged solar storm rocked our planet's magnetic field last year, data from a resurrected NASA spacecraft reveal. And one of the invisible bands, which is unlike any similar structure seen before, might still be there. In May 2024, Earth was hit with its biggest geomagnetic storm in 21 years after a barrage of solar storms slammed into our planet, disrupting the magnetosphere and painting some of the most widespread aurora displays in the last 500 years. The geomagnetic disturbance also caused GPS-reliant machinery to malfunction. In a new study published Feb. 6 in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics, researchers analyzed new data collected by NASA's Colorado Inner Radiation Belt Experiment (CIRBE) satellite and discovered that two temporary radiation belts also emerged around our planet following the storms. The belts were created when charged particles from the solar outbursts became trapped by Earth's magnetic field. These bands are similar to the Van Allen belts — a pair of permanent donut-shaped radiation belts that extend up to 36,000 miles (58,000 kilometers) from Earth's surface and help to shield our planet from solar wind and cosmic rays. The two new bands settled in the space between the inner Van Allen belt and the outer Van Allen belt. Like the permanent structures, the outermost of the two temporary bands contained mostly electrons, whizzing around at near-light speed. However, the innermost temporary belt contained a surprising number of protons, which has never been seen in other temporary radiation belts before, researchers wrote. Related: 10 supercharged solar storms that blew us away in 2024 "When we compared the data from before and after the storm, I said, 'Wow, this is something really new,'" study lead author Xinlin Li, a space physicist and aerospace engineer at the University of Colorado Boulder, said in a NASA statement. The configuration of the proton belt was "really stunning," he added. The CIRBE satellite was offline during May's superstorm, after malfunctioning in mid-April last year. However, on June 15, 2024, the spacecraft suddenly sprang back to life and resumed taking measurements. The breadbox-sized spacecraft, known as a CubeSat, was equipped with a unique device that could detect specific particles within the Van Allen belts. If it had never come back online, the researchers would not have discovered the new proton belt, the team noted. It "wasn't visible in the data from other spacecraft," Li said. "We are very proud that our very small CubeSat made such a discovery." CIRBE continued to take measurements of the new belts until October 2024 when subsequent solar storms caused it to fall out of orbit and burn up in Earth's atmosphere, NASA representatives said in the statement. Temporary radiation belts are nothing new. After major solar storms, charged particles often get temporarily trapped between the Van Allen belts for a few weeks. However, the newest additions to Earth's radiation shield have survived much longer than most, likely due to the intensity of May's solar storm. The outer electron belt disappeared around three months after the storm, following further bombardment from a major solar storm in June and another in August, the researchers wrote. RELATED STORIES —X-class solar flares hit a new record in 2024 and could spike further this year — but the sun isn't entirely to blame, experts say —Sunspots surge to 23-year high as solar maximum continues to intensify far beyond initial expectations —We are fast approaching the sun's 'battle zone' — and it could be even worse than solar maximum, experts warn However, the inner proton belt has proved to be much more resilient and "is likely still there today," NASA representatives wrote. But it is hard to tell for sure without CIRBE. It is currently unclear why the inner belt has held on for so long. It could be because of its unique configuration or be tied to the increased number of solar storms during solar maximum — the most active phase of the sun's roughly 11-year solar cycle, which officially began earlier last year.
Yahoo
12-02-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Huge solar storm in May 2024 spawned 2 new radiation belts around Earth
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. The great solar storm of May 2024, which sparked beautiful auroral displays over much of the world, also created two new radiation belts that were observed with a satellite that came back from the dead. "This is really stunning," Xinlin Li, a professor at the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics at the University of Colorado, Boulder, said in a statement. "When we compared the data from before and after the storm, I said, 'Wow, this is something really new'." May 2024 saw a series of powerful storms erupt from our sun, spewing clouds of charged particles into space and culminating in a dramatic display of aurora borealis (northern lights) and aurora australis (southern lights) — the result of the most powerful geomagnetic storm experienced on Earth since March 1989. And NASA's Colorado Inner Radiation Belt Experiment (CIRBE) satellite had slept through the whole thing. Designed to study Earth's Van Allen radiation belts, CIRBE launched in April 2023 but fell silent in mid-April 2024 as the result of an onboard technical issue. It reawakened in June, and when it did come around, something had changed: Two brand-new radiation belts had appeared! The Van Allen radiation belts contain charged particles held in place by our Earth's magnetic field. There are two permanent belts, but the appearance of a new temporary radiation belt between the two permanent belts following a solar storm is not unusual — such short-lived belts were first detected in 2013. What CIRBE found to be unusual about these two new belts following the May 2024 event was their composition and lifetime. Usually, temporary belts that form following a solar storm are composed of high-energy electrons. One of the new belts found by CIRBE fit this pattern. However the other belt contained a substantial abundance of high-energy protons, too (protons are found also in the permanent radiation belts). Their presence in the new belt is believed to be the product of the intensity of May 2024's solar storms. Temporary radiation belts also usually last for at most four weeks before dissipating, but the new belts found by CIRBE had much longer lifespans: The electron-dominated belt survived for three months after the solar storm, while the proton-dominated belt is believed to still be wrapped around Earth even now. "These are really high-energy electrons and protons that have found their way into Earth's inner magnetic environment," said David Sibeck of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland. "Some might stay in this place for a very long time." While solar storms can create new radiation belts like this, solar storms can also destroy them. A modestly powerful storm in June 2024 reduced the electron-dominated belt, and another storm in August 2024 almost wiped it out completely. The proton-rich belt remains because it is located in a more stable region where its protons are less vulnerable to being bumped out of orbit. The existence of these temporary belts containing high-energy charged particles — the energy range of the electrons was 1.3 to 5 megaelectronvolts (MeV), and for the protons it was even greater at 6.8 to 20 MeV — could have repercussions for launching spacecraft through the Van Allen belts to reach geostationary orbit (which lies at an altitude of 22,236 miles, or 35,785 kilometers) or beyond. The charged particles contained within the belts can damage electrical components in satellites and spacecraft, while providing an extra radiation hazard for astronauts should they ever head back to the moon or venture on to Mars. To ensure the greatest safety at launch, some future missions, particularly those carrying a crew, may need to modify their launch plans or carry extra shielding following solar storms. However, previous measurements have revealed discrepancies between solar age observations and theoretical models — and now, a team led by Bétrisey has shown that it's probably the sun's own magnetic activity that is at fault. This is surprising, because the consensus had previously been that magnetic activity should have no impact at all. Bétrisey's team looked at 26.5 years' worth of data from two sun-observing programs. One was BISON, the Birmingham Solar Oscillations Network, which is a collection of ground-based solar observatories overseen by scientists at the University of Birmingham in the U.K. The other was GOLF, the Global Oscillations at Low Frequency instrument on the joint NASA–ESA SOHO (Solar and Heliospheric Observatory) mission that was launched in 1995. Our sun undergoes an 11-year cycle of magnetic activity, rising from solar minimum when there are hardly any sunspots visible, to solar maximum when there are sunspots, prominences, coronal mass ejections and flares aplenty. The BISON and GOLF data both showed a 6.5% difference when measuring the sun's age via helioseismology at solar minimum compared to at solar maximum. Furthermore, of the two solar cycles encompassed by the 26.5 years' worth of observations, both BISON and GOLF indicated that the cycle with stronger magnetic activity had a greater impact upon the discrepancy in the age measurement. Because, in the grand scheme of things, the sun is not a very active star, the results from BISON and GOLF suggest that "the impact of magnetic activity could be very significant for more active stars such as those that PLATO will detect," said Bétrisey. Related Stories: — May solar superstorm caused largest 'mass migration' of satellites in history — Solar storm frenzy of May 2024 was strong enough to affect the deep sea — Astrophotographer gets close-up look at monster sunspot that led to May's global auroras As for CIRBE, fate was nothing but ironic. While the effects of the May 2024 solar storm gave the cubesat one last shot at glory, it also spelled its doom. The storm injected a substantial amount of energy into Earth's upper atmosphere, inflating the thermosphere and increasing the atmospheric drag on the satellite. This slowed its orbit, causing it to drop down to increasingly lower altitudes. Eventually, it de-orbited and burned up in October. The discovery of the two new radiation belts was published on Feb. 6 in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics.
