BBC:
Theories predicted that the Earth's magnetic field can trap
both matter and antimatter, and now data from the PAMELA
instrument aboard a Russian Earth-monitoring satellite
confirm
this. A thin layer of antiprotons surrounds the Earth
between the inner and outer Van Allen belts. The PAMELA
instrument was carried into space in 2006 to study high-energy
particles from the Sun and from beyond the solar system. Like
other instruments in low-Earth orbit, it encounters an
abundance of antiprotons when it passes through the South
Atlantic Anomaly, which is an area where the inner Van Allen
belt comes closest to the surface of Earth. In addition to
confirming the theoretical work that had predicted the
existence of antimatter bands, the belts of antiprotons
could
be a fuel source for future spacecraft.
