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There's an area of space called the South Atlantic Anomaly, or the SAA, where the Earth's magnetic field is significantly weaker, allowing solar and cosmic radiation dangerously close to the atmosphere. From the beginning of the space age, it has caused issues with satellites and astronauts as they passed through it, with some satellites actually being destroyed because of it.

But... why is it there? What causes it? And should we be concerned about it?

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LINKS LINKS LINKS:
https://science.thewire.in/the-scienc...

https://www.popularmechanics.com/scie...

https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/...

https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/...

https://www.usgs.gov/landsat-missions...

https://scitechdaily.com/new-hubbleca...

https://theconversation.com/how-much-...

https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20...

https://www.livescience.com/65878-ast...

https://spacenews.com/report-backs-na...

https://www.jstor.org/stable/1740834

https://www.solarpathfinder.com/magnetic

https://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/geomag/Geom...

https://www.jagranjosh.com/general-kn...

https://www.livescience.com/earth-cor...

https://www.businessinsider.com/magne...

https://www.sciencealert.com/mysterio...


TIMESTAMPS:
0:00 - Intro
1:05 - What is the South Atlantic Anomaly?
3:03 - Single Event Upsets
4:56 - JAXA's Hitomi mission failure
5:44 - How the SAA affects astronauts
7:27 - What causes the SAA?
9:36 - They Theia Connection (maybe)
10:17 - The weakening magnetic field