---
title: "NASA Is Tracking a “Dent” in the Earth’s Magnetic Field"
description: "NASA scientists have been tracking a strange \"dent\" in the Earth's magnetic field as its slowly moving westwards over the southern Atlantic Ocean."
date: "2020-08-17"
modified: "2020-08-19"
authors:
  - name: "Victor Tangermann"
    job_title: "Senior Editor"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor"
url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/nasa-dent-earth-magnetic-field"
categories:
  - "NASA"
  - "Science & Energy"
  - "Space"
tags:
  - "earth"
  - "magnetic field"
  - "magnetic fields"
  - "the digest"
  - "van allen belts"
---

# NASA Is Tracking a “Dent” in the Earth’s Magnetic Field

![NASA scientists have been tracking a strange "dent" in the Earth's magnetic field as its slowly moving westwards over the southern Atlantic Ocean.](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/nasa-dent-earth-magnetic-field.jpg>)
*\<em\>Image: Division of Geomagnetism, DTU Space\</em\>*

## Big Dent

NASA scientists have been tracking a strange "dent" in the Earth's magnetic field as it slowly moves westwards over South America and the southern Atlantic Ocean.

The Earth's magnetic field is what protects us from highly charged particles arriving to our planet from the Sun, known as solar winds.

But scientists have noticed that this effect weakens significantly in a specific area above the South Atlantic known as the "South Atlantic Anomaly" (SAA). The area has been known for some time, but now researchers are now observing that it's moving westwards — and even splitting into two lobes, according to a [NASA statement](<https://www.nasa.gov/feature/nasa-researchers-track-slowly-splitting-dent-in-earth-s-magnetic-field>).

Experts believe the dent is caused by vicious solar storms deforming the "Van Allen Belts," two donut-shaped zones wrapping Earth that capture charged particles.

"A localized field with reversed polarity grows strongly in the SAA region, thus making the field intensity very weak, weaker than that of the surrounding regions," Weijia Kuang, a geophysicist and mathematician in Goddard’s Geodesy and Geophysics Laboratory, explained in the statement.

## Taking Out Satellites

A spatial weakening in the planet's magnetic field could leave satellites passing over the SAA exposed to charged particles and relatively high levels of radiation. In the worst case, charged particles could short circuit and take out entire satellites.

That's why a team of NASA scientists are keeping close tabs on the moving "pothole in space," as the agency refers to it, by creating long-term space weather forecasts.

“Even though the SAA is slow-moving, it is going through some change in morphology, so it’s also important that we keep observing it by having continued missions,” Terry Sabaka, a geophysicist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, said in the statement. “Because that’s what helps us make models and predictions.”

**READ MORE:** [NASA Researchers Track Slowly Splitting 'Dent' in Earth’s Magnetic Field](<https://www.nasa.gov/feature/nasa-researchers-track-slowly-splitting-dent-in-earth-s-magnetic-field>) \[NASA\]

**More on the Earth's magnetic field:** *[Scientists: Earth's Magnetic Field Could Shift 100x Faster Than Observed](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/earths-magnetic-field-shifting>)*

## Author
I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida.

### Author social links  
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