Scientists have discovered an invisible shield roughly 7,200 miles above the Earth's surface that protects the planet from "killer electrons" flying close to the speed of light.

Researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the University of Colorado said the enigmatic invisible "Star Trek"-style shield prevents "ultrarelativistic electrons" located in the outer part of the Van Allen radiation belt from penetrating Earth's atmosphere and frying everything on the surface of the planet.

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The Van Allen radiation belt is a layer of energetic charged particles trapped at high atmospheric altitudes by the Earth's magnetic field. On the other hand, ultrarelativistic electrons are particles circling the Earth, or any other planet with a magnetic field, at a speed very similar to the speed of light, said Professor Daniel Baker, lead study author and director of CU-Boulder's Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics.

"It's almost like these electrons are running into a glass wall in space. Somewhat like the shields created by force fields on Star Trek that were used to repel alien weapons, we are seeing an invisible shield blocking these electrons. It's an extremely puzzling phenomenon," said Prof. Baker.

Researchers obtained data from two NASA spacecraft known as the Van Allen Probes. Data from the two probes reveal the shield tweaks more rapidly than previously thought, with particles in the areas undergoing swift changes in energy, time and spatial distribution.

In 2013, Prof. Baker's team found a third transient "storage ring" between the inner and outer Van Allen belts. The third ring appears to come and go, depending on space weather.

The radiation belts are named after physicist James Van Allen of the University of Iowa. Van Allen discovered the radiation belts in 1958 and is regarded as a pioneer in magnetospheric space research. He died in 2006 at the age of 91.

The new research will be published in the journal Nature this November 27. 

Tags‘Star Trek’-style invisible shield, killer electrons, radiation, Star Trek-like Barrier, NASA, space exploration, Van Allen Probes, James Van Allen, radiation belt, ultrarelativistic electrons, physics