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2024-11-11

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Rocket launch discovers long-sought global electric field on Earth (www.bas.ac.uk)

submitted 4 months ago by kalkulat to c/science

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"The very slight electric field on Earth may have shaped the evolution of the planet’s atmosphere, keeping our world livable while our neighbors became harsh." - NASA

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[–] Drunemeton 7 points 4 months ago

“ On May 11, 2022, Endurance launched and reached an altitude of 477.23 miles (768.03 kilometers), splashing down 19 minutes later in the Greenland Sea. Across the 322-mile altitude range where it collected data, Endurance measured a change in electric potential of only 0.55 volts.

“A half a volt is almost nothing — it’s only about as strong as a watch battery,” Collinson said. “But that’s just the right amount to explain the polar wind.” ”