The researchers in Canada have developed an instrument that pinpoints “edge of space,” where the space begins and the earth’s atmosphere ends. According to researchers from the University of Calgary, who created the tool, the “edge of space,” begins 118 km (73.3 miles), above sea level, above the Earth.

The researchers have reported that the instrument, Supra-Thermal Ion Imager pinpoints the transition point of relatively gentle winds of earth's atmosphere to more violent flows of charged particles in outer space, exceeding speed of 1,000 kmph; the transition point is the “edge of space,” which only 10 miles off the Kármán line (100 km) that is regarded as the boundary between atmosphere and outer space.

According to the team of researchers, it is significant discovery, as the area is important because it was previously difficult to make measurements in this area, because it is too high for balloons and too low for satellites.

"The results have given us a closer look at space, which is a benefit to pure research in space science, but it also allows us to calculate energy flows into the Earth's atmosphere that ultimately may be able to help us understand the interaction between space and our environment," said David Knudsen, a physics professor at the university.

Knudsen said, "It's only the second time that direct measurements of charged particle flows have been made in this region, and the first time all the ingredients - such as the upper atmospheric winds - have been included."

Knudsen and his former PhD student Laureline Sangalli co-authored the paper about their discovery. The paper has been published in this week in the Journal of Geophysical Research.