Topic: Van Allen radiation belts

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Van Allen radiation belts

The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition
Van Allen radiation belts two belts (sometimes considered as a single belt of varying intensity) of radiation outside the earth's atmosphere, extending from c.400 to c.40,000 mi (c.650-c.65,000 km) above the earth. Their existence was confirmed from information secured by launching the first U.S. earth satellite, Explorer I, sent up during the International Geophysical Year of 1957-58. The belts were named for James A. Van Allen , the American astrophysicist who first predicted the belts and then was first to interpret the findings of the Explorer satellite. The region of external bel... Read more
Van Allen radiation belts
World Encyclopedia Van Allen radiation belts Two rings of radiation trapped by the Earth's magnetic ... the upper atmosphere. The belts contain high-energy, charged ... by the solar wind . The belts were discovered in 1958 by the US physicist James Van Allen. Read more
Van Allen belt
The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English Van Al·len belt • n. each of two regions of intense radiation partly surrounding the earth at heights of several thousand kilometers. Read more

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James Van Allen himself about Van Allen radiation belt