NEW YORK, Dec 14:
A 60-year-old mystery regarding the source of some energetic and potentially damaging particles in the Earth’s radiation belts has been solved, using data from a student operated shoebox-sized satellite. The results indicate energetic electrons in Earth’s inner radiation belt – primarily near its inner edge – are created by cosmic rays born from explosions of supernovas, said Professor Xinlin Li from University of Colorado at Boulder in the US. Earth’s radiation belts, known as the Van Allen belts, are layers of energetic particles held in place by the planet’s magnetic field. The team showed that during a process called “cosmic ray albedo neutron decay” (CRAND), cosmic rays entering Earth’s atmosphere collide with neutral atoms, creating a “splash” which produces charged particles, including electrons, that become trapped by Earth’s magnetic fields. (PTI)
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