NASA's Van Allen Probes Spot an Impenetrable Barrier in Space

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A cloud of cold, charged gas around Earth, called the plasmasphere and seen here in purple, interacts with the particles in Earth’s radiation belts — shown in grey— to create an impenetrable barrier that blocks the fastest electrons from moving in closer to our planet. Image Credit: NASA/Goddard

Two donuts of seething radiation that surround Earth, called the Van Allen radiation belts, have been found to contain a nearly impenetrable barrier that prevents the fastest, most energetic electrons from reaching Earth.
The complete article can be read here, courtesy of www.nasa.gov/vanallenprobes