News Planetary Science

Scientists find a long-sought electric field in Earth’s atmosphere

The field could be a key component to life on the planet

A rocket takes off from a field of ice and snow.

A sounding rocket called Endurance launches from Svalbard, Norway in May 2022 to measure a faint but powerful electric field in Earth’s atmosphere.

Brian Bonsteel/NASA

By Lisa Grossman

Read another version of this article at Science News Explores

For the first time, scientists have measured a long-sought global electric field in the Earth’s atmosphere.