NASA's Van Allen Probes Spot an Impenetrable Barrier in Space (IMAGE)

NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center

NASA's Van Allen Probes Spot an Impenetrable Barrier in Space

Caption

A cloud of cold, charged gas around Earth, called the plasmasphere and seen here in purple, interacts with the particles in Earth's radiation belts -- shown in grey-- to create an impenetrable barrier that blocks the fastest electrons from moving in closer to our planet.

Credit

NASA/Goddard

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