<ul><li>A stable belt of radiation 7000 km above the Earth’s surface is producing damaging bursts of high-energy electrons.</li><li>Scientists at the University of Colorado Boulder discovered that lightning triggers these bursts, which can damage spacecraft and pose risks to astronauts.</li><li>The bursts occur in the inner radiation belt, located between 1.1 and 2 Earth radii, and contain electrons with energies between 10 and a few hundred kilo-electronvolts (KeV).</li><li>Understanding the timing and characteristics of these bursts could help determine safe launch windows for spacecraft.</li></ul>

Lightning sets off bursts of high-energy electrons in Earth’s inner radiation belt

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