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Cosmic radio waves mimic chirping of 'alien birds'

Published: December 4, 2012 Comment on this article

photo - This undated image made available by NASA and the Goddard Space Flight Center shows an artist's rendition of the Van Allen Probes in orbit around Earth. The twin spacecraft have captured the clearest sounds yet from Earth's radiation belts - and they mimic the chirping of birds. NASA's Van Allen Probes have been exploring the hostile radiation belts surrounding Earth for just three months. But already, they've collected measurements of high-energy particles and radio waves in unprecedented detail. Scientists said Tuesday, Dec. 4, 2012 these waves can provide an energy boost to radiation belt particles, somewhat like ocean waves can propel a surfer on Earth. (AP Photo/NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center)

This undated image made available by NASA and the Goddard Space Flight Center shows an artist's rendition of the Van Allen Probes in orbit around Earth. The twin spacecraft have captured the clearest sounds yet from Earth's radiation belts - and they mimic the chirping of birds. NASA's Van Allen Probes have been exploring the hostile radiation belts surrounding Earth for just three months. But already, they've collected measurements of high-energy particles and radio waves in unprecedented detail. Scientists said Tuesday, Dec. 4, 2012 these waves can provide an energy boost to radiation belt particles, somewhat like ocean waves can propel a surfer on Earth. (AP Photo/NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center)

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"So this is really a fantastic new measurement," he said.

While the chorus has been audible even before the Space Age — ham radio operators could sometimes hear it in decades past — the clarity of these measurements is "really quite striking," Kletzing said.

Initial findings show the outer radiation belt to be much more dynamic and rapidly changing than anticipated, said the University of Colorado's Daniel Baker, principal investigator for the electron proton telescope on each probe.

The Van Allen probes — formerly known as the Radiation Belt Storm Probes — were launched from Cape Canaveral on Aug. 30. They were named after the late University of Iowa astrophysicist James Van Allen, who discovered the radiation belts that bear his name a half-century ago.

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Online:

Recording of waves: http://tinyurl.com/b2az6ex

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