But they are confused because they do not understand how it is formed, according to inquisitr.com.
Scientists have discovered something truly remarkable above Earth's atmosphere. An invisible shield, located about 7200 km above the Earth's surface. Scientists have likened it to "the force fields from the science fiction movie Star Trek."
According to the Front Line Desk, the shield was discovered in the Van Allen radiation belts, two donut-shaped rings above the Earth that are filled with high-energy electrons and protons. Held in place by the Earth's magnetic field, the Van Allen radiation belts swell and contract in response to incoming energy from solar disturbances. The Van Allen radiation belts were first discovered back in 1958. However, scientists only knew of two belts, an inner and an outer belt, extending up to 25,000 miles above the Earth's surface.
However, last year, Professor Daniel Baker of the University of Colorado at Boulder and his team used the Van Allen dual probes launched in 2012 to discover a third, transient storage.
According to their study, the third belt is located between the previously known inner and outer Van Allen radiation belts. This belt is different in that it seems to appear and disappear, depending on the changes in space weather.
The purpose of the ring is quite clear to researchers - it is used to block killer electrons from falling into the deeper layers of the Earth's atmosphere. These electrons can be extremely destructive due to their near-light speed. They are also known for threatening astronauts, heating satellites, and damaging space systems.
Professor Baker likened the invisible shield to the force fields from the science fiction movie Star Trek. The Earth's magnetic field has belts, but the scientist says that the electrons in those belts, traveling at almost the speed of light, are blocked by some invisible force, which reminded him of the shields from the Star Trek television series. In the film, they block the alien energy weapons that destroy spaceships. However, in the case of Earth, an invisible shield is used to stop killer electrons from entering the atmosphere.
Before the discovery of the invisible shield, scientists assumed that electrons disappear into the upper layers of the planet's atmosphere, where they are scattered by air molecules. But it seems that these particles do not even fly that far due to the invisible electronic shield of the Earth.
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Now that scientists know that the invisible shield exists, they are trying to determine how it was formed and exactly how it works.
“It looks like these electrons are just bouncing off a glass wall in space. This is a very mysterious phenomenon."
