Sentences with phrase «radiation belts above»
Among its discoveries: an intense radiation belt above Jupiter's cloud tops, helium in about the same concentration as the Sun, extensive and rapid resurfacing of the moon Io because of volcanism and a magnetic field at Ganymede.
https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/ Not exact matches
In a quest to better predict space weather, the Dartmouth researchers study the radiation belts from above and below in complementary approaches — through satellites (the twin NASA Van Allen Probes) high over Earth and through dozens of instrument - laden balloons (BARREL, or Balloon Array for Radiation belt Relativistic Electron Losses) at lower altitudes to assess the particles that rain down.
The radiation belts are two donut - shaped regions of highly energetic particles trapped in the Earth's magnetic field — the inner, located just above our atmosphere and extending 4,000 miles into space; and the outer, from 8,000 to 26,000 miles out — and are named for their discoverer (as are the probes), the late James A. Van Allen of the University of Iowa.
At its highest point, or apogee, some 232,000 miles above Earth (58.7 earth radii), it avoids the hazards posed by the Van Allen radiation belts, which extend from about 621 to 37,282 miles above the surface.
From GPS orbit (roughly 12,600 miles above Earth), satellite - borne sensors probe the largest radiation belt — consisting mainly of energetic electrons.
It would orbit Jupiter, not Europa, and would dip into the planet's intense radiation belts 45 times to fly just above the moon's surface, retreating each time to safer locales to transmit its data home.
As a result, every two weeks TESS approaches close enough to the Earth for high data - downlink rates, while remaining above the planet's harmful radiation belts.