A long filament of solar material that had been hovering in the Sun's atmosphere, the corona, erupts out into space at 4:36 p.m. EDT on August 31, 2012. The coronal mass ejection, or CME, traveled at over 900 miles per second. The CME did not travel
A long filament of solar material that had been hovering in the Sun's atmosphere, the corona, erupts out into space at 4:36 p.m. EDT on August 31, 2012. The coronal mass ejection, or CME, traveled at over 900 miles per second. The CME did not travel directly toward Earth, but did connect with Earth's magnetic environment, or magnetosphere, causing aurora to appear on the night of September 3, 2012. The image above includes an image of Earth to show the size of the CME compared to the size of Earth. Reuters

Scientists dedicated to the study of Van Allen belts have made a groundbreaking discovery. They have learnt that there is an invisible shield surrounding the earth and protecting the planet. Read on for more details.

Front Line Desk broke the news on Nov. 27, 2014. The report notes that the said shield is some 11,600 km (7200 miles) above Earth's atmosphere. The prime function of the layer is to protect the planet from being bombarded by "killer electrons." These particles are capable of damaging space systems and satellites and are a threat to astronauts.

Explaining further about the electrons, the publication notes that they move around the planet at "near-light speed." They can even destroy the power grids, affect the climate and lead to increase in the rate of cancer.

The discovery of the mysterious shield was made in Van Allen radiation belts described as two "doughnut-shaped rings." It consists of "high energy electrons and protons." The Van Allen belts were found almost half a century ago, in the year 1958. The two belts extend as far as 40,000 km above earths' surface.

Scientists have determined the exact location of the ring. As per the report, it lies between the two Van Allen radiation belts. This ring seems to swell and shrink depending on the "intensity of space weather." It prevents the "ultrafast electrons" from penetrating deep in the earth's atmosphere leading to its devastating effects.

University of Colorado Boulder's Professor Daniel Baker and his team made the discovery with the help of data of twin Van Allen Probes that was introduced in the year 2012 by NASA. The probe was dedicated to the study and discovery of "third, transient 'storage ring.'"

"Somewhat like the shields created by force fields on Star Trek that were used to repel alien weapons, we are seeing an invisible shield blocking these electrons," said Professor Baker. He describes this as an "extremely puzzling phenomenon."

The latest discovery changed the notions previously held by the team. They thought these electrons would gradually move "downward into the upper atmosphere." However, the newly found protective shell prevents that from happening. Meanwhile, scientists continue to wonder about the origin of the protective shield and its formation. The journal Nature featured a paper on the abovementioned discovery in its Nov. 26, 2014 issue.