A man-made barrier is surrounding and protecting Earth

Why it matters: Earth is bombarded with intense radiation and energy ejected from the sun that can sometimes disrupt satellite communications and power grids. Scientists plan to investigate whether ultimately they could purposely use VLF signals to push this excess radiation farther away from Earth.

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The discovery: Researchers found that the barrier, which forms under certain conditions, has actually been pushing Earth’s Van Allen radiation belts away for decades. Using satellite data, they compared the inner edge of those belts today vs. in the 1960s when there were fewer VLF communications, and discovered the inner edge is farther away today.

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