A solar storm created the third Van Allen belt

The new belt created by the solar storm lies between the existing inner and outer Van Allen radiation belts (see image above), the American space agency NASA reports.

Normally, the Earth orbits two Van Allen radiation belts. The innermost of the two begins about 1,600 kilometers above the Earth’s surface and extends to an altitude of 12,800 kilometers. The outermost extends to an altitude of about 19,300 to 40,200 kilometers. The Van Allen belts were discovered in 1958 by NASA’s Explorer 1 spacecraft.

This radiation ring consists of trapped particles that originate from the sun. Astronauts flying to the moon and back must cross both radiation belts twice, once on the way there and once on the way back.

Particles from the outer Van Allen belt
Satellites have already detected such an intermediate ring of extremely fast electrons – after a solar storm in 2012. Analyses at the time showed that these particles originally came from the outer Van Allen Belt, but were swept inward by the force of the solar storm and collected there to form a new, third ring.

The former outer ring becomes a storage place for high-energy particles. This configuration is then stable until a new strong solar wind causes the original configuration to reappear.

Of great importance to humanity
The Van Allen Belts are named after their discoverer, the American astrophysicist and space pioneer James Alfred Van Allen. They are of great importance to modern society, which is dependent on numerous space-based technologies (e.g. GPS).

They are affected by solar storms and space weather and can blow up dramatically. If this happens, they can pose a threat to communications and GPS satellites.

NASA’s CIRBE satellite, a so-called cubesat, is investigating the inner radiation belt of Earth’s magnetosphere and is intended to provide new insights into the high-energy particles that can destroy satellites and endanger astronauts – for example during a spacewalk.