Anti-Matter Belt Discovered Around Earth

hydrofix writes "A thin band of antiprotons enveloping the Earth has been spotted for the first time. The find, described in Astrophysical Journal Letters [arXiv] (Note: abstract free, full text paywalled), confirms theoretical work that predicted the Earth's magnetic field could trap antimatter. The antiprotons were spotted by the Pamela satellite launched in 2006 to study the nature of high-energy particles from the Sun and cosmic rays. Aside from confirming theoretical work that had long predicted the existence of these antimatter bands, the particles could also prove to be a novel fuel source for future spacecraft — an idea explored in a report for NASA's Institute for Advanced Concepts."

Comments

Re:Navu SEAL:team killed in helicopter crash

[morgaen]

Turn off Fox News. They were obviously flying too close to the anti-matter belt.

Planning Office

[Uncle Robert]

Has anyone checked at the planning office to see if they are planning to put in a bypass?

Re:Planning Office

[Yvan256]

I did. The plans were on display, but I had to go down to the basement to find them. It was in a locked Microsoft Word document, saved on a 360 KB floppy disk, stuck in a disused lavatory with a sign on the door saying "Beware of the Ponies".

Re:antimatter

[WrongSizeGlass]

That's sooooo adorably naive! Everybody knows that if it turns out to be a useful power source, the governments of the world will compete with one another to turn it into a weapon. Space Race 2.0: Fuck The Manhattan Project, Shit Just Got Real!

Talk about naive. SkyNet will use it against us while we bicker between ourselves whether or not to put the anti-matter weapons on sharks or just in the hands of evil corporations.

Anti-Matter

[cob666]

In other news. General Products press conferences states that visiting Earth could void the warranty on your GP hull.

Re:antimatter

[Anonymous Coward]

I do believe shit just got Anti-Real.

So it's DOCTOR Bruno now!

[93 Escort Wagon]

Good job, dude! I was wondering what you'd been up to since your work in Dr. Tongue's 3D House of Stewardesses!

Re:antimatter

[Scarletdown]

28 atoms of anti-hydrogen (which I point out again that this is not) wouldn't produce a reaction capable of running a AA-battery flashlight.

I believe that the BBC has fallen victim to sensationalism and/or ignorance. It's pretty much what I've come to expect from the world press.

So this discovery truly does not matter. Or does it not anitmatter in this case?