Weird But True

Radar detects invisible space bubbles over pyramids of Giza with power to impact satellites

By
Alex Mitchell
Published Sep. 10, 2024, 4:21 p.m. ET

These bubbles could spell trouble.

A high-tech radar has detected invisible space bubbles over the Great Pyramids of Giza, providing clues to scientists who hope to prevent future satellite interruptions by this mysterious phenomenon.

Researchers in China published their findings last month after observing the mysterious floating structures with a breadth as far as 9,500 kilometers.

Plasma bubbles were detected over Egypt recently.
Plasma bubbles were detected over Egypt recently. Anadolu via Getty Images

Called equatorial plasma bubbles (EPBs), IFL Science describes them as pockets of superheated gas at low altitudes in regions near the equator, such as Egypt, calling it a form of space weather.

They emerge when there is suddenly a loss of charged particles in a layer of the sky called the ionosphere, Interesting Engineering reports.

The EPBs original source is believed to come from a geomagnetic storm that occurred nearly a year prior in November of 2023. They were also spotted by the Midway Island of the Pacific Ocean, the South China Morning Post reported.

The high tech radar detected long strands of plasma bubbles over multiple points above Earth.
The high tech radar detected long strands of plasma bubbles over multiple points above Earth. Geophysical Research Letters

These bubbles should be treated as an “important space weather phenomenon,” according to the report from the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

Space weather detection technology is rapidly emerging, but needs greater investment, authors wrote. The low-altitude radar based in Hainan, China can be stifled by the vast presence of oceans interfering with its scan, which could be overcome by building a network of such radars “to obtain global EPBs in real time.”