Mon Oct 14 19:02:35 UTC 2024: ## Lightning Strikes Spark New Discovery About Space Weather and Radiation Risk

**Boulder, CO** – A team of researchers at the University of Colorado Boulder, led by recent graduate Max Feinland, has made a groundbreaking discovery connecting Earth’s lightning storms to the behavior of high-energy particles in space. This finding could have significant implications for protecting satellites and astronauts from harmful radiation.

The study revealed that lightning can trigger the ejection of “killer electrons” from the inner radiation belt, a region of charged particles surrounding Earth. These electrons, known for their ability to penetrate metal and damage electronics, pose a serious threat to spacecraft and can even be carcinogenic to humans in space.

While it was already known that electrons can descend from the outer radiation belt towards Earth, Feinland’s team is the first to observe similar activity in the inner belt. This phenomenon, termed “lightning-induced electron precipitation,” occurs when radio waves generated by lightning strikes collide with electrons in the inner belt, causing them to be knocked loose.

Feinland, who analyzed data from NASA’s SAMPEX satellite, identified 45 instances of high-energy electron precipitation in the inner belt between 1996 and 2006, many of which coincided with lightning strikes in North America. The researchers liken the process to a game of pinball, where the radio waves act as the “flippers,” causing the electrons to bounce between Earth’s hemispheres. With each bounce, some electrons fall into the atmosphere.

This discovery has significant implications for understanding and mitigating space weather hazards. As periods of high solar activity are likely to increase the frequency of these events, researchers are now focused on developing methods to predict and protect against them.

“I didn’t even realize how much I liked research until I got to do this project,” Feinland said, highlighting the importance of this unexpected finding. The team’s research, published in the journal *Geophysical Research Letters*, promises to enhance our understanding of space weather and its impact on space exploration.

Read More