New York, Dec 14 (PTI) A 60-year-old mystery regardingthe source of some energetic and potentially damagingparticles 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 innerradiation belt - primarily near its inner edge - are createdby cosmic rays born from explosions of supernovas, saidProfessor Xinlin Li from University of Colorado at Boulder inthe US.
Earth's radiation belts, known as the Van Allen belts,are layers of energetic particles held in place by theplanet's magnetic field.
The team showed that during a process called "cosmic rayalbedo neutron decay" (CRAND), cosmic rays entering Earth'satmosphere collide with neutral atoms, creating a "splash"which produces charged particles, including electrons, thatbecome trapped by Earth's magnetic fields.
The findings have implications for understanding andbetter forecasting the arrival of energetic electrons innear-Earth space, which can damage satellites and threatenthe health of space-walking astronauts, said Li.
"We are reporting the first direct detection of theseenergetic electrons near the inner edge of Earth's radiationbelt," said Li, lead author of the study published in thejournal Nature.
"We have finally solved a six-decade-long mystery," saidLi.
Soon after the discovery of the Van Allen radiation beltsin 1958, both American and Russian scientists concluded thatCRAND was likely the source of high-energy protons trapped inEarth's magnetic field.
However, over the intervening decades, no onesuccessfully detected the corresponding electrons that shouldbe produced during the neutron decay.
The CubeSat mission, called the Colorado Student SpaceWeather Experiment (CSSWE), houses a small, energeticparticle telescope to measure the flux of solar energeticprotons and Earth's radiation belt electrons.
Launched in 2012, CSSWE has involved more than 65 CUBoulder students and was operated for more than two yearsfrom a ground station they built on the roof of a building oncampus.
"This is really a beautiful result and a big insightderived from a remarkably inexpensive student satellite,illustrating that good things can come in small packages,"said Daniel Baker, co-author of the study. PTI SARSAR.
This is unedited, unformatted feed from the Press Trust of India wire.