Earth’s radiation belts

E786118

planetary radiation belt system space plasma region

Earth’s radiation belts are doughnut-shaped regions of trapped charged particles encircling our planet, dominated by the Van Allen belts and strongly influenced by Earth’s magnetic field and space weather.

Try in SPARQL Jump to: Surface forms Statements Referenced by

Observed surface forms (1)

Surface form	Occurrences
Van Allen radiation belts	5

Statements (49)

Predicate	Object
instanceOf	planetary radiation belt system ⓘ space plasma region ⓘ
affects	radiation shielding needs ⓘ satellite operations ⓘ spacecraft design requirements ⓘ
alsoKnownAs	Van Allen radiation belts NERFINISHED ⓘ
composedOf	electrons ⓘ heavy ions ⓘ protons ⓘ trapped charged particles ⓘ
confinementMechanism	Earth’s geomagnetic field lines ⓘ
containsRegion	slot region of reduced particle flux ⓘ
discoveredBy	Explorer 1 mission NERFINISHED ⓘ James Van Allen NERFINISHED ⓘ
discoveryDate	1958 ⓘ
dominatedBy	Van Allen belts NERFINISHED ⓘ
energyRange	from kiloelectronvolts to megaelectronvolts ⓘ
extendsFrom	about 1 Earth radius above Earth’s surface ⓘ
extendsTo	about 7 Earth radii above Earth’s surface ⓘ
hasPart	inner Van Allen radiation belt NERFINISHED ⓘ outer Van Allen radiation belt NERFINISHED ⓘ
hazardFor	astronauts ⓘ satellites ⓘ spacecraft electronics ⓘ
influencedBy	Earth’s magnetic field NERFINISHED ⓘ coronal mass ejections ⓘ geomagnetic storms ⓘ solar energetic particle events ⓘ solar wind ⓘ space weather ⓘ
locatedAround	Earth NERFINISHED ⓘ
monitoredBy	ground-based magnetometers ⓘ space-based radiation detectors ⓘ
particleMotion	bounce motion between magnetic mirror points ⓘ drift around Earth ⓘ gyration around magnetic field lines ⓘ
partOf	Earth’s magnetosphere NERFINISHED ⓘ near-Earth space environment ⓘ
radiationSource	galactic cosmic rays ⓘ trapped solar wind particles ⓘ
radiationType	ionizing radiation ⓘ
shape	doughnut-shaped ⓘ toroidal ⓘ
studiedBy	Cluster mission NERFINISHED ⓘ Explorer missions NERFINISHED ⓘ THEMIS mission NERFINISHED ⓘ Van Allen Probes NERFINISHED ⓘ
variesWith	geomagnetic activity level ⓘ solar cycle ⓘ