The Van Allen radiation belt is annular areas of energetically charged particles trapped in Earth’s magnetic discipline.
The Van Allen belts, which act as shields for the Earth in opposition to dangerous rays coming from the Solar and the interstellar medium, are most focused on the Equator and aren’t positioned above the poles.
Van Allen’s inside is centered about 3,000 km (1,860 mi) above the continental floor. The outer zone is positioned at an altitude of about 15,000 to twenty,000 km (9,300 to 12,400 miles).
The internal Van Allen belt consists largely of high-energy protons with vitality in extra of 30 million electron volts.
Analysis exhibits that intense photo voltaic exercise, reminiscent of a coronal mass ejection, can typically shrink the outer area, creating a 3rd area of charged particles between the outer and internal areas.
Intense Photo voltaic exercise additionally causes different disturbances in the Van Allen belts, that are related to phenomena reminiscent of auroras and magnetic storms.
The outer Van Allen belt comprises charged particles of each atmospheric and photo voltaic origin. Photo voltaic-derived particles are largely composed of helium ions originating from the photo voltaic winds.
Protons of the outer belt have a lot decrease vitality and far larger flux than the internal belt.
Essentially the most energetic particles of the outer belt are electrons, whose energies attain a number of hundred million electron volts.
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