60 years in the making: NASA confirms hypothesis on Earth\'s global electric field

NASA has confirmed the existence of a global electric field around Earth, achieved through a recent rocket launch. This is a big deal, since this is the first direct measurement of a phenomenon which has been long theorized but has never been observed before.

Since the late 1960s, spacecraft have detected a stream of particles, called the “polar wind,” escaping Earth's atmosphere at supersonic speeds. Despite expectations that intense sunlight would cause some outflow, the cold, unheated particles have confused scientists. Suspecting an undiscovered electric field as the cause for the same, NASA's Glyn Collinson and his team began developing an instrument in 2016 to measure this ambipolar field, previously undetectable with existing technology. For reference,an ambipolar field is an electric field that affects both positively and negatively charged particles (ions and electrons) in a plasma, causing them to move together as a group rather than separating.

The mission involved launching a specialized sounding rocket from the Ny-Ålesund, Svalbard (Norway). The rocket was equipped with sensitive instruments designed to measure electric fields in Earth's upper atmosphere. As the rocket ascended to its target altitude, it captured precise data on the global electric field, which is generated by the interaction between the solar wind—a continuous stream of charged particles from the Sun—and Earth's magnetosphere.

This electric field plays a crucial role in the behavior of charged particles in the ionosphere, a region of Earth's atmosphere that affects radio communication, GPS, and satellite operations. Fluctuations in the electric field can disrupt these systems, particularly during solar storms. Its discovery will improve our space weather predictions, improve our understanding of atmospheric dynamics, and hopefully help protect satellites from intense solar storms. It also advances plasma physics and atmospheric escape mechanisms on Earth and other planets.

Discovery alert! ????After 60 years of searching, scientists found the global electric field extending Earth’s atmosphere into space. It took a journey to the Arctic, a new instrument, and a powerful rocket to find it.This is the story of Endurance. ???? https://t.co/cQzceoswRS pic.twitter.com/69dCi3BMcM

— NASA Sun & Space (@NASASun) August 28, 2024

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