An unusual event in Earth’s atmosphere has just been discovered by NASA, which may cause some issues for satellites and spacecraft in orbit around the Earth.
According to The Mirror, a strange void, resembling a “funnel-shaped hole“, has been found in Earth’s magnetic field, located approximately 402 km from the North Pole, and it only appears once a day.
The strange void appears only once a day at noon (local time) and may affect the magnetic field at the North Pole. (illustrative image).
Scientists at NASA are the ones who discovered this strange void and noted that it is causing interference with radio and GPS signals in the area.
As a result, this strange void may cause some problems for satellites and spacecraft in orbit around the Earth.
Interestingly, any aircraft passing through this area seems to experience a reduction in speed as the void opens up.
Mark Conder, a physicist at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, stated: “In orbit, spacecraft and satellites may even encounter significant drag, similar to when they just hit a speed bump.”
NASA has indicated that they are trying to understand why this unusual region of space appears and what its negative impacts might be.
NASA is preparing to launch a satellite into space to study the area above the North Pole, known as the polar peak.
Currently, one hypothesis suggests that this void may be related to electromagnetic effects in the ionosphere, located in the upper atmosphere of the Earth, caused by ionization from the Sun, carrying charged particles.
Although it may not seem very concerning, this phenomenon could negatively affect the magnetic field at the North Pole—a factor that plays a crucial role in blocking charged particle flows from the Sun, protecting life on Earth.
