Scientists monitor 'first direct evidence' of thunderstorms blasting antimatter clouds into space



It was once the preserve of Star Trek and other science-fiction television shows.

But scientists looking at thunderstorms through a telescope have now picked up on antimatter clouds being blasted into space from Earth.



The phenomenon is produced by a reaction inside thunderstorms when circling the planet.

Spotted above thunderstorms around the world, the blasts were monitored by Nasa researchers using the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope.

Scroll down for video



Visualisation: Nasa scientists looking at storms through a telescope have now picked up on antimatter clouds being blasted into space from Earth

WHAT IS ANTIMATTER?

Antimatter is the mirror of ordinary matter. Normal atoms are made up of positively-charged nuclei orbited by negatively-charged electrons.

However, their antimatter counterparts are the wrong way round. They have negative nuclei and positively-charged electrons.

When matter and antimatter meet they instantly annihilate each other, releasing a burst of energy.

Since it was first proposed by the British physicist Paul Dirac in 1931, antimatter has been a staple of science fiction.

An antimatter reactor powers the USS Enterprise in the TV and film series Star Trek, while an antimatter bomb hidden under Rome plays a key role Dan Brown's thriller Angels & Demons.

These clouds of particles were then introduced to a similar cold cloud of positrons - antimatter electrons.

The two kinds of particle combined to form atoms of hydrogen antimatter which were successfully trapped by a magnetic field for one sixth of a second.



The telescope was able to research terrestrial gamma-ray flashes (TGFs), which happen when a burst of antimatter energy is emitted inside a thunderstorm.

It is estimated that about 500 TGFs occur daily worldwide, but most go undetected and none have ever been studied until now.

Researchers hope the study will eventually shed more light on the theory that a whole antimatter universe exists alongside our own.

Joseph Dwyer at the Florida Institute of Technology in Melbourne, said: 'Even though Fermi couldn't see the storm, the spacecraft nevertheless was magnetically connected to it.

'The TGF produced high-speed electrons and positrons, which then rode up Earth's magnetic field to strike the spacecraft.'

Michael Briggs, a member of Fermi's Gamma-ray Burst Monitor team at the University of Alabama, presented the results to yesterday's American Astronomical Society meeting in Seattle.

He said: 'These signals are the first direct evidence that thunderstorms make antimatter particle beams.'

Scientists long have suspected TGFs arise from the strong electric fields near the tops of thunderstorms.

Michael Briggs, a member of Fermi's Gamma-ray Burst Monitor team at the University of Alabama, presented the results to yesterday's American Astronomical Society meeting in Seattle.

He said: 'These signals are the first direct evidence that thunderstorms make antimatter particle beams.'

VIDEO See how thunderstorms blast antimatter clouds into space