NASA's THEMIS mission observed how dense particles normally near Earth in a layer of the uppermost atmosphere called the plasmasphere can send a plume up through space to help protect against incoming solar particles during certain space weather events.
NASA’s THEMIS mission observed how dense particles normally near Earth in a layer of the uppermost atmosphere called the plasmasphere (colored orange) can send a plume up through space to help protect against incoming solar particles during certain space weather events.
Credit: NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center