Two doughnut-shaped belts of charged particles interacting with Earth's magnetic field. They are made up of electrons, protons and heavier atomic ions originating from the solar wind. These particles get trapped in the magnetic field of the Earth. The belts were discovered by James van Allen in 1958 and were named in his honour. The lower van Allen belt extends from 800-6000 km above the surface of the Earth while the upper belt lies between 25 000 to 36 000 km above the equator.
an interior feature of a magnetosphere and comprises a population of energetic, electrically charged particles (electrons, protons, and heavier atomic ions) durably trapped in the magnetic field of the planet
region of charged ions and electrons in space
Magnetized planets, like Earth, are encircled by zones of particle radiation known as the "Van Allen belts," in which charged particles spiral to and fro, trapped by the planet's magnetic field. Earth's radiation belts were the first major discovery of the space age. In 1958 a Geiger counter on board the Explorer 1 spacecraft, detected so much radiation scientists first thought the detector had malfunctioned.
The portion of a planetary magnetosphere that contains charged particle radiations unable to escape because of the ambient magnetic field.
the region of high-energy particles trapped in the Earth's magnetic field.
A ring-shaped region around a planet in which electrically charged particles (usually electrons and protons) are trapped. The particles follow spiral trajectories around the direction of the magnetic field of the planet. The radiation belts surrounding Earth are known as the Van Allen belts.
