Impenetrable barrier to ultrarelativistic electrons in the Van Allen radiation belts

A team led by the University of Colorado Boulder has discovered an invisible shield some 7,200 miles above Earth that blocks so-called “killer electrons,” which whip around the planet at near-light speed and have been known to threaten astronauts, fry satellites and degrade space systems during intense solar storms.

The barrier to the particle motion was discovered in the Van Allen radiation belts, two doughnut-shaped rings above Earth that are filled with high-energy electrons and proton

Scientists have discovered an invisible shield roughly 7,200 miles

Nature - An impenetrable barrier to ultrarelativistic electrons in the Van Allen radiation belts

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