The study of space weather has taken on an increased importance in recent decades, as the importance of the effects of the day-to-day conditions of our immediate solar system continue to be uncovered, with the effects here on Earth ranging from the awe-inspiring beauty of an aurora borealis display, to the potential nightmare a large-scale solar flare could unleash on our technology.

However, in much the same way that human-based activity has affected Earth-based weather through climate change, it turns out that we’ve also been affecting the nature of space weather in the immediate vicinity around our planet, in the form of a forcefield-like bubble that has been pushing away the natural radiation bands that circle Earth, high in the magnetosphere.
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