{"id":948,"date":"2013-03-03T14:04:58","date_gmt":"2013-03-03T14:04:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?p=948"},"modified":"2013-03-03T14:04:58","modified_gmt":"2013-03-03T14:04:58","slug":"nasa-van-allen-spacecraft-find-third-radiation-belt-around-earth","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?p=948","title":{"rendered":"NASA Van Allen spacecraft find third radiation belt around earth"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>NASA&#8217;s <a href=\"http:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/mission_pages\/rbsp\/main\/index.html\" target=\"_d\">Van Allen Probes<\/a> spacecraft discover that the Van Allen belts are even more complicated than previously thought:<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/home\/hqnews\/2013\/feb\/HQ_13-065_Van_Allen_Probes_Belts.html\" target=\"_d\">NASA&#8217;s Van Allen Probes Reveal a New Radiation Belt Around Earth<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>WASHINGTON &#8212; NASA&#8217;s Van Allen Probes mission has discovered a previously unknown third radiation belt around Earth, revealing the existence of unexpected structures and processes within these hazardous regions of space.<\/p>\n<p>Previous observations of Earth&#8217;s Van Allen belts have long documented two distinct regions of trapped radiation surrounding our planet. Particle detection instruments aboard the twin Van Allen Probes, launched Aug. 30, quickly revealed to scientists the existence of this new, transient, third radiation belt.<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"youtube-player\" width=\"1600\" height=\"900\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/XKCMaJBXmzY?version=3&#038;rel=1&#038;showsearch=0&#038;showinfo=1&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;fs=1&#038;hl=en&#038;autohide=2&#038;wmode=transparent\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" style=\"border:0;\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox\"><\/iframe><\/span><\/p>\n<p>The belts, named for their discoverer, James Van Allen, are critical regions for modern society, which is dependent on many space-based technologies. The Van Allen belts are affected by solar storms and space weather and can swell dramatically. When this occurs, they can pose dangers to communications and GPS satellites, as well as humans in space.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;The fantastic new capabilities and advances in technology in the Van Allen Probes have allowed scientists to see in unprecedented detail how the radiation belts are populated with charged particles and will provide insight on what causes them to change, and how these processes affect the upper reaches of Earth&#8217;s atmosphere,&#8221; said John Grunsfeld, NASA&#8217;s associate administrator for science in Washington.<\/p>\n<p>This discovery shows the dynamic and variable nature of the radiation belts and improves our understanding of how they respond to solar activity. The findings, published Thursday in the journal Science, are the result of data gathered by the first dual-spacecraft mission to fly through our planet&#8217;s radiation belts.<\/p>\n<p>The new high-resolution observations by the Relativistic Electron Proton Telescope (REPT) instrument, part of the Energetic Particle, Composition, and Thermal Plasma Suite (ECT) aboard the Van Allen Probes, revealed there can be three distinct, long-lasting belt structures with the emergence of a second empty slot region, or space, in between.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;This is the first time we have had such high-resolution instruments look at time, space and energy together in the outer belt,&#8221; said Daniel Baker, lead author of the study and REPT instrument lead at the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics (LASP) at the University of Colorado in Boulder. &#8220;Previous observations of the outer radiation belt only resolved it as a single blurry element. When we turned REPT on just two days after launch, a powerful electron acceleration event was already in progress, and we clearly saw the new belt and new slot between it and the outer belt.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Scientists observed the third belt for four weeks before a powerful interplanetary shock wave from the sun annihilated it. Observations were made by scientists from institutions including LASP; NASA&#8217;s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md.; Los Alamos National Laboratory in Los Alamos, N.M.; and the Institute for the Study of Earth, Oceans, and Space at the University of New Hampshire in Durham.<\/p>\n<p>Each Van Allen Probe carries an identical set of five instrument suites that allow scientists to gather data on the belts in unprecedented detail. The data are important for the study of the effect of space weather on Earth, as well as fundamental physical processes observed around other objects, such as planets in our solar system and distant nebulae.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Even 55 years after their discovery, the Earth&#8217;s radiation belts still are capable of surprising us and still have mysteries to discover and explain,&#8221; said Nicky Fox, Van Allen Probes deputy project scientist at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Md. &#8220;We thought we knew the radiation belts, but we don&#8217;t. The advances in technology and detection made by NASA in this mission already have had an almost immediate impact on basic science.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>The Van Allen Probes are the second mission in NASA&#8217;s Living With a Star Program to explore aspects of the connected sun-Earth system that directly affect life and society. Goddard manages the program. The Applied Physics Laboratory built the spacecraft and manages the mission for NASA.<\/p>\n<p>For more information on the Van Allen Probes, visit:\u00a0 <a href=\"http:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/vanallenprobes\">http:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/vanallenprobes<\/a><\/p>\n<p>===<\/p>\n<p>See also <a href=\"http:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/mission_pages\/rbsp\/news\/third-belt.html\" target=\"_d\">NASA&#8217;s Van Allen Probes Discover a Surprise Circling Earth<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>NASA&#8217;s Van Allen Probes spacecraft discover that the Van Allen belts are even more complicated than previously thought: NASA&#8217;s Van Allen Probes Reveal a New Radiation Belt Around Earth WASHINGTON &#8212; NASA&#8217;s Van Allen Probes mission has discovered a previously unknown third radiation belt around Earth, revealing the existence of unexpected structures and processes within &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?p=948\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">NASA Van Allen spacecraft find third radiation belt around earth<\/span> <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[31,13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-948","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-solar-science","category-space-science"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p34aWK-fi","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":15491,"url":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?p=15491","url_meta":{"origin":948,"position":0},"title":"Student satellite projects","author":"TopSpacer","date":"January 18, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"It's becoming increasingly common for students in colleges as well as in grade schools and high schools to built small satellites and see them go into space before they graduate. Here is a story about one such project in Oregon:\u00a0Student Satellite .... Radio | OPB The\u00a0Oregon Small Satellite Project\u00a0is an\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Amateur\/Student Satellite&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Amateur\/Student Satellite","link":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?cat=4"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/1280px-CubeSat_in_hand-1024x768.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":15538,"url":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?p=15538","url_meta":{"origin":948,"position":1},"title":"Videos: The Planetary Post with Robert Picardo &#8211; &#8220;Space Robots in Antarctica&#8221;","author":"TopSpacer","date":"January 31, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"The latest Planetary Post with Robert Picardo is about Space Robots in Antarctica - While Picardo speaks to Astronauts and fans on a Star Trek cruise ship, one of our other board members, Dr. Britney Schmidt toughs it out at the South Pole to research how one day robots could\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Activism&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Activism","link":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?cat=3"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/img.youtube.com\/vi\/nDSNS553WaE\/0.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":16864,"url":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?p=16864","url_meta":{"origin":948,"position":2},"title":"Video: A spacecraft magnetic shield for solar and galactic radiation","author":"TopSpacer","date":"October 14, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"The earth's magnetic field and the atmosphere protect life from much of the radiation prevalent in space. That radiation consists primarily of two types: energetic charged particles from the sun and super-energetic particles, typically referred to as galactic cosmic rays (GCR), from deep space sources far beyond our solar system.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Living in Space&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Living in Space","link":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?cat=17"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Slough-NIAC2018-CRShower.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":13670,"url":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?p=13670","url_meta":{"origin":948,"position":3},"title":"Videos of ten rocket launches this December worldwide","author":"TopSpacer","date":"December 21, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Lots of launches worldwide this month. Here are videos of ten of them: ** Dec.21: Today in French Guiana, ArianeSpace launched an Ariane V rocket with two commercial communications satellites going to geostationary orbit https:\/\/youtu.be\/KZDq87iynR4 **\u00a0\u00a0Dec.20: On Wednesday the Japanese space agency JAXA successfully launched a\u00a0small Epsilon rocket with the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Rockets&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Rockets","link":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?cat=5"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/img.youtube.com\/vi\/KZDq87iynR4\/0.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":17256,"url":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?p=17256","url_meta":{"origin":948,"position":4},"title":"Voyager 2 reaches interstellar space","author":"TopSpacer","date":"December 10, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"NASA's Voyager 2 spacecraft, launched in 1977, joins Voyager 1 in leaving the Sun's\u00a0heliosphere and entering interstellar space: NASA\u2019s Voyager 2 Probe Enters Interstellar Space https:\/\/youtu.be\/MGPM58S5Njg For the second time in history, a human-made object has reached the space between the stars. NASA\u2019s Voyager 2 probe now has exited the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Solar Science&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Solar Science","link":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?cat=31"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/pia22835a_20181206_voyager_in_interstellar_space_annotated_1920x1080_72dpi-final1.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":6910,"url":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?p=6910","url_meta":{"origin":948,"position":5},"title":"Deep Space Network Now &#8211; display of communications with space probes","author":"TopSpacer","date":"March 15, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"NASA's Deep Space Network (DSN) of giant antennas used to communicate with probes to deep space now has the cool DSN Now\u00a0display showing which spacecraft is currently being contacted by each antenna. There is also info on the particular spacecraft. :\u00a0Check Out NASA\u2019s New \u201cDashboard\u201d for Spacecraft Communications - Universe\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Real-time space&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Real-time space","link":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?cat=93"},"img":{"alt_text":"DSN-LiveDisplay","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/DSN-LiveDisplay.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/948","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=948"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/948\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":950,"href":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/948\/revisions\/950"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=948"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=948"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=948"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}