NASA's twin TRACERS satellites fly through Earth's polar cusps to study magnetic reconnection, a key driver of space weather. Linked to the magnetic shield on Three Shields.
Image: NASA.
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Low Earth The curved path an object takes as it travels around a planet, moon or star, like a satellite circling Earth. Glossary, through the polar cusps of Earth's magnetic field.
Source: NASA, TRACERS
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NASA's TRACERS (Tandem Reconnection and Cusp Electrodynamics Reconnaissance Satellites) launched on July 23, 2025. The twin satellites fly in low Earth orbit through the polar cusps, funnel-shaped openings in Earth's magnetic field, to study magnetic reconnection: what happens when activity from the Sun meets the Earth's invisible magnetic shield. It steers most of the Sun's charged particles away from our planet. Glossary that protects us. Understanding it helps scientists prepare for the effects of solar activity on Earth.
Source: NASA, TRACERS
See how the magnetic field shields us on Three Shields.
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APA
Saving Planets. (n.d.). TRACERS (NASA). https://www.savingplanets.com/TRACERS.html
MLA
"TRACERS (NASA)." Saving Planets, https://www.savingplanets.com/TRACERS.html.