Scientists have revealed for the first time that there is a powerful jet stream deep within the Earth's outer core, in the form of molten iron.

With the help of satellite imagery from the European Space Agency's Swarm satellites, scientists from the University of Leeds detected this current deep inside the planet's layers. This new satellite data consists of X-ray images of the Earth's outer core.

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"This is the first time that we are seeing this jet stream clearly and we have identified it as a band of molten iron with an acceleration that encircles the North Pole, similar to the jet stream in our atmosphere," Phil Livermore of the University of Leeds, said.

Past studies have revealed that there are fluctuations in the planet's magnetic field, which is somewhat linked to the movement of molten rock some thousands of miles underneath the Earth's crust. These new images provide a better image of this phenomena in greater detail.

This molten iron forms into an iron jet stream that can travel at speeds of 25 miles every year. This is more than 700 times faster than any molten iron movement in the Earth's core and more than 7,000 times faster than shifting tectonic plates.

This jet stream is located between two distinct regions of the planet's core. Scientists suggest that the iron is pulled into this region and forced into a single direction. Scientists say it is also highly likely that these buoyant forces along with core's magnetic field are causing this jet stream's trajectory.

According to ESA's Swarm mission manager, Rune Floberghagen, Earth's magnetic field is forever changing making this molten iron jet stream change its direction. Thanks to Swarm, this geological feature is the first of many deep Earth discoveries.

The magnetic field surrounding our planet protects us from cosmic radiation such as solar wind and electrically charged particles from the sun. This geomagnetic field is emitted by numerous sources such as the Earth's core, mantle, and crust including the oceans and the atmosphere's ionosphere and magnetosphere.

With the help of ESA's Swarm satellites, scientists have been to identify each of these sources and study them individually.

This new study was published in the journal Nature Geoscience.