Details of solar particles penetrating the Earth's environment revealed

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This sketch shows the orbits of the Cluster and Double Star (TC-1) spacecraft on 8 May 2004 when the five satellites observed magnetic channels created by the merging of the Sun and the Earths magnetic fields. Such events called Flux Transfer Events ...
This sketch shows the orbits of the Cluster and Double Star (TC-1) spacecraft on 8 May 2004, when the five satellites observed magnetic channels created by the merging of the Sun and the Earth's magnetic fields. Such events, called 'Flux Transfer Events,' allow solar particles to break through the Earth's magnetic shield and penetrate the Earth's environment. Credits: ESA

Co-ordinated efforts by China/ESA's Double Star and ESA's Cluster spacecraft have allowed scientists to zero in on an area where energetic particles from the Sun are blasting their way through the Earth's magnetic shield. Solar material penetrating the Earth's magnetic shield can represent a hazard to both astronauts and satellites.


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