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The South Atlantic Anomaly is a location in the southern Atlantic where the innermost portions of the natural zone of energetic charged particles encircling Earth, known as the Van Allen radiation belt, makes its closest approach to the planet. The resulting outflow of energized particles produces a higher yield of ionizing radiation detectable by satellites orbiting Earth. Our planet’s geomagnetic field undergoes constant changes that result from the activity occurring in the Earth’s core, which current models aren’t capable of easily predicting. Because of this, the World Magnetic Model can only offer a good estimate of the Earth’s geomagnetic activity...

The researchers explain that instruments for measuring the strength of the Earth's magnetic field were first invented only approximately 200 years ago. In order to examine the history of the field during earlier periods, science is helped by archaeological and geological materials that recorded the properties of the field when they were heated to high temperatures. The magnetic information remains "frozen" (forever or until another heating event) within tiny crystals of ferromagnetic minerals, from which it can be extracted using a series of experiments in the magnetics laboratory. Basalt from volcanic eruptions or ceramics fired in a kiln are frequent...

Why is Earth pulsating every 26 seconds, and why canÂ’t scientists explain it after 60 years? This is an enigma wrapped in a periodically predictable mystery motion. It could be a harmonic phenomenon, a regular seismic chirp caused by the sunÂ’s energy, or a beacon drawing scientists to its source to begin a treasure hunt. âž¡ The world is weird. We'll show you how it works. In the early 1960s, a geologist named Jack Oliver first documented the pulse, also known as a "microseism," according to Discover. Oliver, who worked at Columbia University's Lamont-Doherty Geological Observatory at the time, heard...

NASA's new Imaging X-Ray Polarimetry Explorer spacecraft is a tiny satellite with the unique ability to capture images in X-ray with polarization and timing information for every photon captured. It's designed to operate for 2 years and capture new scientific measurements of some of the most extreme places in the universe with gravitational and magnetic fields that would destroy ordinary matter.And in an interesting turn of events the satellite switched from the intended launch vehicle to a cheaper option that nobody considered - the Falcon 9. This is the first time we've seen a rocket lauched from a domestic US...

The faster growth under Indonesia's Banda Sea hasn't left the core lopsided. Gravity evenly distributes the new growth—iron crystals that form as the molten iron cools—to maintain a spherical inner core that grows in radius by an average of 1 millimeter per year. But the enhanced growth on one side suggests that something in Earth's outer core or mantle under Indonesia is removing heat from the inner core at a faster rate than on the opposite side, under Brazil. Quicker cooling on one side would accelerate iron crystallization and inner core growth on that side. This has implications for Earth's...

A strange dent in Earth’s magnetic field doses orbiting craft with high levels of radiation. It's caused everything from periodic glitches to total mission failure. The European Space Agency’s Swarm satellites measure the strength of Earth’s magnetic field. In this image, cooler colors (blue) mean lower strength than warmer colors (pink). The large dark region is called the South Atlantic Anomaly Radiation is a colorless, tasteless, and odorless enemy to both humans and electronics alike. And, thanks to a quirk in Earth’s magnetic field, a region called the South Atlantic Anomaly (SAA) regularly exposes orbiting spacecraft to high levels of...

Anyone watching a compass needle point steadily north might suppose that Earth’s magnetic field is a constant. It’s not. Researchers have long known that changes are afoot. The north magnetic pole routinely moves, as much as 40 km/yr, causing compass needles to drift over time. Moreover, the global magnetic field has weakened 10% since the 19th century. Earth’s magnetic field protects us from solar storms and cosmic rays. Less magnetism means more radiation can penetrate our planet’s atmosphere. Indeed, high altitude balloons launched by Spaceweather.com routinely detect increasing levels of cosmic rays over California. Perhaps the ebbing magnetic field over...

he Bermuda Triangle and missing aircraft may seem like science fiction, but there is a well documented region off of the coast of Brazil that contains highly charged particles. This area is known as the South Atlantic Anomaly and is avoided at all costs by orbiting satellites. NASA satellites that do travel in the region are shut down, or go into SAFE mode to avoid damage while passing over the Atlantic between Brazil and Africa. The electrical field around earth protects us from cosmic rays. There are two bands that trap highly charged particles circle the earth. The protons trapped...

NASA is actively monitoring a strange anomaly in Earth's magnetic field: a giant region of lower magnetic intensity in the skies above the planet, stretching out between South America and southwest Africa.

Using satellite data, researchers believe an "anomaly" in the South Atlantic may have split in two, with the eastern section "developing vigorously." Earth's magnetic field is generated by movements within the planet's molten iron core. ...When the magnetic field is stronger, it blocks more radiation. When it is weaker, more radiation reaches the planet's surface. The magnetic field is constantly moving. It strengthens and weakens as part of normal fluctuations. According to the European Space Agency, the magnetic field has lost around 9 percent of its strength over the preceding two centuries. One section of the magnetic field has been...