Giant particle accelerator in the sky
Thursday, September 10, 2020 - 06:30
in Astronomy & Space
The Earth's magnetic field traps high-energy particles. When the first satellites were launched into space, scientists led by James Van Allen unexpectedly discovered the high-energy particle radiation regions, which were later named after its discoverer: the Van Allen Radiation Belts. Visualized, these look like two donut-shaped regions encompassing the planet.