By Timon Singh, Source: Inhabitat

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Shields up! A team from the University of Colorado Boulder have discovered an “invisible shield” approximately 7,200 miles above Earth. The shield reportedly blocks so-called “killer electrons” that travel around the planet at near-light speed and can potentially threaten astronauts, fry satellites and damage electrical systems during solar storms.

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As some of you might know, the Earth is surrounded by the Van Allen radiation belts, two doughnut-shaped rings that are filled with high-energy electrons and protons. The belts periodically swell and shrink in response to incoming energy disturbances from the sun. However, the ‘shield’ was discovered within the belts by UCB’s Professor Daniel Baker and his team.

Read more at: Inhabitat