{"id":9524,"date":"2025-02-05T11:40:29","date_gmt":"2025-02-05T16:40:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/spaceandplanetarynewswire.com\/?p=9524"},"modified":"2025-02-05T11:40:29","modified_gmt":"2025-02-05T16:40:29","slug":"lightning-strikes-link-weather-on-earth-and-weather-in-space","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/spaceandplanetarynewswire.com\/?p=9524","title":{"rendered":"Lightning Strikes Link Weather on Earth and Weather in Space"},"content":{"rendered":"

Lightning, when coupled with solar flares, can knock electrons flying above the Earth out of place. AP Photo\/David Zalubowski<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

There are trillions of charged particles \u2013 protons<\/a> and electrons<\/a>, the basic building blocks of matter \u2013 whizzing around above your head at any given time. These high-energy particles, which can travel at close to the speed of light, typically remain thousands of kilometers away from Earth, trapped there by the shape of Earth\u2019s magnetic field.<\/p>\n

Occasionally, though, an event happens that can jostle them out of place, sending electrons raining down into Earth\u2019s atmosphere<\/a>. These high-energy particles in space make up what are known as the Van Allen radiation belts<\/a>, and their discovery was one of the first of the space age. A new study<\/a> from my research team has found that electromagnetic waves generated by lightning can trigger these electron showers.<\/p>\n

A brief history lesson<\/strong><\/p>\n

At the start of the space race in the 1950s, professor James Van Allen<\/a> and his research team at the University of Iowa were tasked with building an experiment to fly on the United States\u2019 very first satellite, Explorer 1<\/a>. They designed sensors to study cosmic radiation<\/a>, which is caused by high-energy particles originating from the Sun, the Milky Way galaxy, or beyond.<\/p>\n

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James Van Allen, middle, poses with a model of the Explorer 1 satellite. NASA<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/figure>\n

After Explorer 1 launched, though, they noticed that their instrument was detecting significantly higher levels of radiation<\/a> than expected. Rather than measuring a distant source of radiation beyond our solar system, they appeared to be measuring a local and extremely intense source.<\/p>\n

This measurement led to the discovery of<\/a> the Van Allen radiation belts, two doughnut-shaped regions of high-energy electrons and ions encircling the planet.<\/p>\n

Scientists believe that the inner radiation belt, peaking about 621 miles (1000 kilometers) from Earth, is composed of electrons and high-energy protons and is relatively stable over time.<\/p>\n

The outer radiation belt, about three times farther away, is made up of high-energy electrons. This belt can be highly dynamic<\/a>. Its location, density and energy content may vary significantly by the hour in response to solar activity.<\/p>\n