Tau.Neutrino said:
Major space mystery solved using data from student satellite
A 60-year-old mystery regarding the source of some energetic and potentially damaging particles in Earth’s radiation belts is now solved using data from a shoebox-sized satellite built and operated by University of Colorado Boulder students.
Read more at: https://phys.org/news/2017-12-major-space-mystery-student-satellite.html#jCp
Very interesting, if confirmed.
“The results from the new study indicate energetic electrons in Earth’s inner radiation belt – primarily near its inner edge – are created by cosmic rays born from explosions of supernovas. Earth’s radiation belts, known as the Van Allen belts, are layers of energetic particles held in place by Earth’s magnetic field.
The team showed that during a process called “cosmic ray albedo neutron decay” (CRAND), cosmic rays entering Earth’s atmosphere collide with neutral atoms, creating a splash which produces charged particles, including electrons, that become trapped by Earth’s magnetic fields.”
Anyone here met up with CRAND before?