NASA Discovers Third Radiation Belt Circling Earth

An anonymous reader sends word that NASA scientists using the Relativistic Electron Proton Telescope (REPT) about the Van Allen Probes have discovered a third radiation belt surrounding Earth. Scientists have been aware of the Van Allen radiation belts since the 1950s, but it was thought that there were only two of them. The probes were sent up to simply map the belts in fine detail; the discovery of a third belt was a complete surprise. Deputy mission scientist Shri Kanekal said, "By the fifth day REPT was on, we could plot out our observations and watch the formation of a third radiation belt. We started wondering if there was something wrong with our instruments. We checked everything, but there was nothing wrong with them. The third belt persisted beautifully, day after day, week after week, for four weeks." Part of the reason they caught a glimpse of this belt was that they turned the REPT on early, so it would overlap with another probe that had reached end-of-life and was about to de-orbit. If they hadn't decided to do so, or if the REPT hadn't worked perfectly, we still might be in the dark about a third Van Allen belt.

Old Man Earth is getting old

[mcgrew]

Maybe he should trade one of those belts for a pair of suspenders?

Re:

[radiumsoup]

the effects would be the same, because the 3rd belt has (presumably) always been there... it's just that our understanding of the effects might change in light of the new data.

Re:

[dreamchaser]

If this is somehow related to Global Warming, it is entirely possible that the belt has formed recently and could continue to intensify. Regardless of it's origins, it could mean additional protection for earth and spectacular auroras.

Please explain how any warming of the Earth's atmosphere could be related to the radiation belts that are produced, presumably, by our magnetic field, which has no connection to how warm or cold the air is. I know you're trolling but I could use the LOL's when you try to explain that.

It was just discovered. It has most likely been there for a long, long time. Most likely since long before mammals arrived.

Re:Interesting

[Antipater]

The third belt has not always been there, nor is it there now. It was blasted away by a solar shock wave a few weeks after they noticed it. The guess is that a solar shock wave is what created it in the first place, too.

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[fbumg]

This was more funny when I read it as a reply to the "Old Man Earth..." comment above it. I thought you were carrying on the old-man funny-ness, with "coronal mass ejections" implying an old man spending too much time on the toilet. And the "solar wind" a reference to him farting. Now I realize you were serious, that's too bad. And no, I am not 10 years old, I merely think like one.

Re:

[khallow]

How could the belts affect the sun?

Putting on sunscreen lotion doesn't change the Sun either, but it does change how the Sun affects you.

Re:

[arkane1234]

Just as much as a piece of cat fur will put out a house fire...

Gratifying -

[Darth Snowshoe]

I worked on this spaceship for ~3 years. Let me say that it's very gratifying that it found something, and especially that it found something nobody was expecting. I'm much relieved.

Re:Gratifying -

[geekoid]

where is the:
+1 worked on actual spacecraft mod?

Re:

[RivenAleem]

Given the user's name, are you sure that's a +1 mod?

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[ackthpt]

I worked on this spaceship for ~3 years. Let me say that it's very gratifying that it found something, and especially that it found something nobody was expecting. I'm much relieved.

It's always a plus to find something you weren't looking for. Hope it succeeds on its primary mission as well.

Re:

[CanHasDIY]

I worked on this spaceship for ~3 years. Let me say that it's very gratifying that it found something, and especially that it found something nobody was expecting. I'm much relieved.

It's always a plus to find something you weren't looking for.

Obviously not a regular viewer of water [imdb.com] based [imdb.com] horror [imdb.com] films... [imdb.com]

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[fermion]

What I learned doing this was that space always has a surprise. You may think that you understand how thing work away from earth, but all too often predictions fall short.

More Proof

[Anonymous Coward]

More proof that man never went to the moon.

Re:More Proof

[K. S. Kyosuke]

More proof that man never went to the moon.

The Apollo trans-lunar trajectories skimmed that region of space almost completely. Your silly comment is like blaming Columbus for not having discovered Australia.

Re:

[H0p313ss]

... or America for that matter.

However, for discovering the Bahamas he's one of my heros.

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[WillgasM]

Where the hell's our Leif Ericson day?

Is REPT playing Star Castle?

[Picass0]

We had a third belt and then we didn't... gamers are at fault.

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[steelfood]

gamers are at fault.

What, they stopped eating pizza and started exercising?

Van Allen belts...Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea

[dywolf]

Reminds me of one of my favorite movies.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voyage_to_the_Bottom_of_the_Sea [wikipedia.org]
Yes, I know, the plot is typical 50's non-science (using a nuclear missile to amputate the Van Allen belts from earth because they caught fire....). But i still like it.

So let's see...

[93 Escort Wagon]

We've got the Van Allen belt... what are the other two, Van Morrison and Van Johnson?

Re:So let's see...

[ackthpt]

We've got the Van Allen belt... what are the other two, Van Morrison and Van Johnson?

the one responsible for lightning is Van de Graaff

Re:

[cyberchondriac]

I cast a vote for Van Halen

Re:

[FatLittleMonkey]

That should be David Lee Roth, because the new ring is apparently not in the group any more.

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[Chrutil]

We've got the Van Allen belt... what are the other two, Van Morrison and Van Johnson?

Let's hope it stays at three so we don't get a Van Damme belt as well.

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[sehlat]

This third one is just Van Ordinaire

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[sconeu]

Van Cliburn.

That's where the "Music of the Spheres" comes from.

Meanwhile on CNN...

[Kaenneth]

Was this 3rd belt caused by Fukashima or Global Warming?

Re:

[mjr167]

Clearly it was Bush.

Re:

[asylumx]

Nah, CNN will allow their opinion articles to blame both Bush and Obama as long as it gets them viewers. Meanwhile, Fox will explicitly blame Obama and MSNBC will claim it's Bush's fault.

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[steelfood]

And how will it impact your Monday morning commute?

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[arkane1234]

And Fox News... Obama budget fiasco stops NASA from keeping radiation belt away from earth.

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[FatLittleMonkey]

"Since the beginning of the Obama presidency, radiation around the Earth has actually increased. So much for the Liberal Green Agenda from this Environmentalist-In-Chief. Can our planet survive four more years of this, or Is it finally time for Obama to go? You decide."

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[AlabamaCajun]

No, the Vulcans put it there to teach us how to build a warp drive.

How many of these are not artificial?

[tokul]

Which belts are not created by some bomb test?

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[mjr167]

Considering we don't generally detonate nuclear bombs in orbit around the planet... I would say all of them.

Re:How many of these are not artificial?

[idontgno]

And even when we do [wikipedia.org], the radiation belt created doesn't last long. Five years in the case of the Starfish Prime artificial belt. Probably because the belt isn't caused by or reinforced by solar particle flux, so the trapped particles leak over time.

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[cffrost]

While briefly on the topic of high-altitude nuclear detonations, check out this photo of the ground illumination from the 3.8MT Hardtack Teak [wikipedia.org] shot, 77km (48mi) above. For comparison, Starfish Prime was 1.4MT at an altitude of 400km (250mi).

Re:

[arkane1234]

Someone needs to look at the sheer scale of what's being talked about...
A nuclear bomb is very small comparedly. Very very very small.

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[FatLittleMonkey]

Someone else needs to read up on Starfish Prime [wikipedia.org]. We can and did influence these systems.

And old too

[ThatsNotPudding]

Look how high up that belt is!

Which one is the new one?

[Ungrounded Lightning]

Unless I missed it, it's not clear from TFA which of the three belts shown in the map is the "new", intermittent belt.

I'm guessing it's the inner one (which I'd expect to decay from encounters with the very tenuous upper atmosphere). But I'd like to know for sure.

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[Antipater]

It's the outermost one. TFA is disappointing because it reads more like a beg for funding than an informative look at the new belt. Here's [nbcnews.com] yesterday's NBC article on the subject.

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[Antipater]

Er...or not. I actually just checked the numbers, and the altitude given for the newfound belt (19-22km) would put it as the middle one. Bah.

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[Antipater]

19-22 thousand km. I'm really bad at this today.

Implications

[Roachie]

What can we draw from this with regards to that tea kettle that is in orbit up there?

Re:

[cffrost]

What can we draw from this with regards to that tea kettle that is in orbit up there?

You mean Russell's? [wikipedia.org] Hasn't been spotted; agnostics are awaiting further news.

Darn it...

[Kiralan]

Break out the Moon-based neuralizer! Everyone has just found out about the "Ark Net" shield! http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1409024/plotsummary?ref_=tt_stry_pl [imdb.com]

NASA

[Vincent Bucchieri]

Props to NASA for continuing expanding knowledge beyond what we know about the universe.

Not a "third belt"

[yusing]

Not a "third belt" at all. A temporary "third concentration" within the Van Allen belt, yes. The lower concentration is blamed on cosmic ray neutron=>proton interactions, the upper concentration to atmospheric and solar electrons. The belt was already known to consist of some concentration of energetic particles from 250-20,000 km. Naturally that varies at various levels as incoming particles are pulled into the magnetosphere.

Wow, a third belt!

[wakeboarder]

Is it really a 'third' belt if it goes away and the other two don't. I guess third belt sounds way more exciting in the news than another radiation belt mode.