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Concept
Van Allen radiation belt
Summary
A 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 credited with their discovery. Earth's two main belts extend from an altitude of about above the surface, in which region radiation levels vary. Most of the particles that form the belts are thought to come from solar wind and other particles by cosmic rays. By trapping the solar wind, the magnetic field deflects those energetic particles and protects the atmosphere from destruction.
The belts are in the inner region of Earth's magnetic field. The belts trap energetic electrons and protons. Other nuclei, such as alpha particles, are less prevalent. The belts endanger satellites, which must have their sensitive components protected with adequate shielding if they spend significant time near that zone. In 2013, the Van Allen Probes detected a transient, third radiation belt, which persisted for four weeks. Apollo Astronauts going through the Van Allen Belts received a very low and non-harmful dose of radiation.
Kristian Birkeland, Carl Størmer, Nicholas Christofilos, and Enrico Medi had investigated the possibility of trapped charged particles before the Space Age. The second Soviet satellite Sputnik 2 which had detectors designed by Sergei Vernov, followed by the US satellites Explorer 1 and Explorer 3, confirmed the existence of the belt in early 1958, later named after James Van Allen from the University of Iowa. The trapped radiation was first mapped by Explorer 4, Pioneer 3, and Luna 1.
The term Van Allen belts refers specifically to the radiation belts surrounding Earth; however, similar radiation belts have been discovered around other planets. The Sun does not support long-term radiation belts, as it lacks a stable, global dipole field.
Official source
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