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takyon [soylentnews.org] writes:

http://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/human-activity-changing-space-too-180963369/ [smithsonianmag.com]

There’s hardly anything on Earth that has escaped human influence—from the oceans to the atmosphere. But a new study suggests that human activity is also influencing the space around our planet; this is on top of the space junk already swirling around out there. Very Low Frequency (VLF) broadcasts have created a planetary cocoon, shielding the planet from high energy particle radiation, according to a NASA press release.

[...] This ephemeral bubble adds to the already protective magnetosphere, encompassing our planet. Researchers report the find this week in the journal Space Science Review.

The discovery was made using the Van Allen Probes, spacecraft launched in 2012 to monitor the bands of charged particles surrounding the Earth.

https://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2017/nasas-van-allen-probes-spot-man-made-barrier-shrouding-earth/ [nasa.gov]

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