Zone of energetic charged particles around the planet Earth
This CGI video illustrates changes in the shape and intensity of a cross section of the Van Allen belts.A cross section of Van Allen radiation belts
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Van Allen radiation belt is a zone of energetic charged particles, most of which originate from the solar wind, that are captured by and held around a planet by that planet's magnetosphere. Earth has two such belts, and sometimes others may be temporarily created. The belts are named after James Van Allen, who is often credited with their discovery.[1]
Earth's two main belts extend from an altitude of about 640 to 58,000 km (400 to 36,040 mi)[2] above the surface, in which region radiation levels vary. The belts are in the inner region of Earth's magnetic field. They trap energetic electrons and protons. Other nuclei, such as alpha particles, are less prevalent. Most of the particles that form the belts are thought to come from the solar wind while others arrive as cosmic rays.[3] By trapping the solar wind, the magnetic field deflects those energetic particles and protects the atmosphere from destruction.
The belts endanger satellites, which must have their sensitive components protected with adequate shielding if they spend significant time near that zone. Apollo Astronauts going through the Van Allen Belts received a very low and unharmful dose of radiation.[4][5]
In 2013, the Van Allen Probes detected a transient, third radiation belt, which persisted for four weeks.[6]
^"'Doughnuts' of radiation ring earth in space". Victoria Advocate. (Texas). Associated Press. December 28, 1958. p. 1A.
^Zell, Holly (February 12, 2015). "Van Allen Probes Spot an Impenetrable Barrier in Space". NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center. Archived from the original on 2020-03-06. Retrieved 2017-06-04.
^"Van Allen Radiation Belts". HowStuffWorks. Silver Spring, Maryland: Discovery Communications, Inc. 2009-04-23. Retrieved 2011-06-05.
^Cite error: The named reference popsci.com was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^Cite error: The named reference Woods was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^Phillips, Tony, ed. (February 28, 2013). "Van Allen Probes Discover a New Radiation Belt". Science@NASA. NASA. Archived from the original on 2019-12-07. Retrieved 2013-04-05.
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by Earth's magnetic field spiral around field lines to form the VanAllenradiationbelt. The electrons are from the solar wind and may remain trapped above...
shielded by the magnetic field of the Earth, but also suffer from the VanAllenradiationbelt which accumulates cosmic rays and results from the Earth's magnetic...
carried on Luna 2 was to determine the electron spectrum of the VanAllenradiationbelt. It consisted of three STS-5 gas-discharge counters mounted on...
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a radiation vault like the Juno Jupiter orbiter. Galileo (spacecraft), NASA space probe to Jupiter 1989–2003 also endured high radiationVanAllen radiation...
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satellite research was in 1958, when Explorer 1 detected the VanAllenradiationbelts. Planetology reached a new stage with the Russian Luna programme...
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trapped in the radiationbelts to precipitate into the atmosphere. Once particles are lost to the atmosphere from the radiationbelts, under quiet conditions...
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