from: The Van Allen Belts: http://image.gsfc.nasa.gov/poetry/tour/vanallen.html)

Van Allen's first drawing

When somebody is learning something about the planet Earth so the chance is relatively big that in the book is a strange picture like this:

Planet Earth with the Van Allen radiation belts, coloured diagram.

The foto here shows the Earth which is covered by clouds of invisible particles. These particles are painted here by an artist in violet and pink. The book will tell you that the violet parts and the pink parts are Van Allen radiation belts.

The "belts" are an example for particles which are captured in the terrestrial magnetic field like flies in a bottle when they fall into it. Though the artists paint the belts like this as if the belts would consist of dense gas clouds the belts are this diluted that astronauts cannot see or feel them when they are performing an atmosphere-walk out of an atmosphere ship.

The radiation belts are this diluted that the scientists did not know of them until sensitive instruments in satellites detected them in the late 1950ies.

After this the scientists as Prof. James van Allen at the Iowa State University was bothering with the particles, the cosmic radiation. Other physicians had detected them already in the 1930s.

What are the particles? Where they come from?

As soon the satellites were built and could perform their Earth orbits van Allen and his team integrated an instrument in the satellites to measure the particles (e.g. Explorer I and Pioneer 3). They detected that the data was very different to the expected data. When the satellite was in his orbit the instruments registered  a changing stream of cosmic radiation particles along the orbit.  The change of the streams was not by chance.

Drawing the streams in a diagram corresponding to the intensity there is this drawing coming out. The team about van Allen detected which the data of several satellites that there were real clouds of particles with very high energetic particles near the Earth. These clouds had a certain form. At the equator level they were most massive, near the poles they were very thin. The drawing shows the radiation belts with the flying path of "Pioneer 3".

This is Van Allen's drawing of the inner and the outer radiation belt after receiving the data of satellite "Pioneer 3". This was the drawing in the "Nature" magazine in 1959 by J.A. van Allen and L.A. Frank.

Van Allen radiation belts, extension, incomplete drawing.

The detection of the first two Van Allen belts
Inner Van Allen belt which is detected by Explorer 1. Coloured diagram.	First the scientists thought that the Earth is flying in an almost empty room an the magnetic field would leave it's traces as a pattern which resembles to a magnetic field (orange lines). But the first "American" satellite, Explorer 1, detected a ring with energetic particles which were captured over the Earth and were moving within the fields. It was the first of two such zones, the Van Allen belts, which were found.
The next satellites detected another, an exterior Van Allen belt, black and red diagram. Inner and outer Van Allen belt, real space diagram with the presentation of the cosmic radiation ("sunwind") and with the compression of the Van Allen belts in the direction of the sun. On the "shadow side" the outer Van Allen belt is protracted.

	Inner Van Allen radiation belt with protons: Diagram with the particle speed, coloured schema. Trapped proton belt. From AP-8 MAX (SPENVIS)
	Outer Van Allen belt with electrons: Diagram with particle speed, coloured schema. Trapped electron belt. From AE-8 MAX (SPENVIS)
	Simulation of the Van Allen belts generated by plasma thruster in tank #5 Electric Propulsion Laboratory at the Lewis Research Center, Cleveland Ohio, now John H. Glenn Research Center at Lewis Field. (Picture 5. See Credits below) NASA foto no.: c1966-3654 http://grin.hq.nasa.gov/BROWSE/ALLGRIN_97.html http://grin.hq.nasa.gov/IMAGES/SMALL/GPN-2000-002003.jpg

Van Allen was a little surprised to detect new belts around the Earth because he had not looked for them. He had looked for another phenomenon in nature, the cosmic radiation. At the same time another team had looked for the belts already but they were not sure what kind of particles it would be, and what energy could be expected.

To learn more about why they are such a hazard to astronauts and satellites, let's take a closer look at them!

Detailed studies by satellites of the last 50 years show that there are actually two kinds of already known particles which build the belts: Electrons an protons. The single particles bear much energy and it's useful to name the energies with the normal energy designations.

The detection of the third Van Allen belt

There are two electron belts and one proton belt (so there are three "Van Allen belts"). The proton belt (blue) begins with about 500 km over the Earth and is extends up to a height of 13,000 km. This inner belt contains protons with an energy of over 10 mio. Volt. Scientists mean today that these protons are trapped cosmic radiation particles from out of the solar system or they are trapped by the sun itself, during heavy son glinting. The low energy electron belt (pink) overlapping the space of the proton belt. The electrons bear an energy average of 1 to 5 mio. volts. Third high energetic electron belt (violet) is further out in space and in the diagram the violet belt. The electrons in this outer belt bear an average of 10 to 100 mio. volt.

Three Van Allen belts, coloured diagram: -- blue: Inner Van Allen belt (protons) (voltage per particle: over 10 mio. volt) -- pink: New Van Allen belt (electrons) (voltage per particle: 1 to 5 mio. volt) -- violet: Outer Van Allen belt (electrons) (voltage per particle: 10 to 100 mio. volt).

A modern mystery

[Where are coming from the high particle energies between 1 and 100 mio. volt?]

There are some questions about the belts yet until today.

Even today the space physicians cannot understand completely where the particles come from or how the energies of the particles can be this "astronomical" in comparison to the plasmaspheric particles or to the ring formed voltage particles. Typical "ring" particles consist of electrons and protons with energies between 1 and 100 mio. volt. Energetic ring current particles only have seldom more than 150,000 volt energy.

[The movement of the particles from pole to pole in a drift]
As the plasma movement the particles are tending to move from pole to pole and to drift from East to the West at the same time. The particles of the Van Allen belts are doing the same. Instead of drawing the clouds as soft donuts it would be more correct to draw the clouds as sharp "horns" which have their ends on the poles. On the points of the horns the particles hit neither the atmosphere and are lost for the belts, or they are rejected along the magnetic field into space.

Diagram of the particle path in the Van Allen radiation belts
	Particle paths in the outer Van Allen radiation belt, coloured schema. Trapped particles. from SPENVIS.
	Particle paths in the outer Van Allen radiation belt, coloured schema. Trapped particle motions. From http://www.estec.esa.nl/wmwww/wma/rad_env.html
	Particle paths in the outer Van Allen radiation belt, coloured schema. http://www.spacedaily.com/news/ earth-magnetic-99d.html
	Particle paths in the outer Van Allen radiation belt, schema black and white. from: David Stern:  'Exploration of the Magnetosphere'
	Particle paths in the outer Van Allen radiation belt, detail 1, schema black and white. Rejected particles; from: David Stern: Mirroring particles.
	Particle path in the outer Van Allen radiation belt, detail 2, schema black and white. Drifting particles by David Stern.

[The radiation abnormality of the nearer belts over South "America" and over the South Atlantic]

There is one more aspect about the belts which is especially interesting for the manned atmosphere flight and the satellites. Because of a shift of the magnetic field corresponding to the Earth axis the influence in the equatorial regions over South "America" is bigger. Because the belt is following the Earth magnetic field and not the oblique rotation axis of the Earth, this means that the belt is nearer to the Earth's surface over South "America" and over the Southern Atlantic.

[The inner Van Allen belt inclines to the South Atlantic resp. the Earth at the South Atlantic is inclining to the Inner Van Allen belt].

This means that a stay in a Space Shuttle, in an atmosphere station or that a functioning satellite over the South Atlantic is nearer to the belts and gets a higher radiation dose from the belts, because the particles penetrate the atmosphere ship or the casing of the satellite. This region is called the South Atlantic abnormality. This concerns radiation doses at astronauts as also the data transmission quality of atmosphere ships passing this region.

The abnormity of the radiation belts over the South Atlantic (SAA)
	Diagram of the inner Van Allen belts with the approximation at the South Atlantic, coloured schema. SAA close up in orbit. From http://www.estec.esa.nl/wmwww/wma/rad_env.html
	Abnormity of the radiation belt over the South Atlantic, diagram with an Earth foto. SAA. From http://www.estec.esa.nl/wmwww/wma/rad_env.html
	Abnormity of the radiation belts over the South Atlantic with indication of speed of particles, coloured schema. South Atlantic Anomaly. From AP-8 MAX (SPENVIS)
	Abnormity of the South Atlantic of the inner Van Allen radiation belt over the South Atlantic (SAA), with indication of the speed of the particles, schema in black and white. SAA at surface. Intensity map. From http://www.estec.esa.nl/wmwww/wma/rad_env.html
	Inner and outer radiation belt with the abnormity of the radiation belt over the South Atlantic (SAA) with indication of the speed of the particles, coloured schema. SAA and electron distribution. From AE-8 MAX (SPENVIS)

Humans were hit by the belt particles, but never that much as some people believe. Astronauts in a Space Shuttle an in an atmosphere ship receive every time when they pass the South Atlantic (SAA) about 2 mRems additional dose. In one week this is an addition of 7 times 30 = 210 mRems. This is the dose of a year on the ground (about 350 mRems).

[Moon travel seems not possible]

To pass the belts the astronauts need about 30 minutes. One travel is a dose as it is in Space Shuttle (TBD).

NASA claims the moon landings were true because NASA claims that the protection shield was thick enough. And the high energetic particles are very seldom.

[But what's with 1 to 100 mio. volt? NASA is not explaining, and it seems impossible passing these particles].


[Shooting star traces]

The astronauts report about "shooting stars" (TBD?). These were caused by high energetical particles. The particles go by the fluid in the eye and leave behind a bright an fast light trace. Similar stripes were reported from astronauts in the Space Shuttle, and also astronauts of other missions near the Earth during solar storms reported this. It's not known how the long term consequences of that kind of the short exposure will be with the astronauts.

NASA means that a trip to the Mars is possible and there will be much more shooting traces. [But even a moon trip is not possible because of radioactivity in space].

Humans also have a significant influence on the belts by their nuclear programs. During the nuclear tests there were new belts created, in the "notch" region precisely at the other side of the proton belt. This temporary belt is eventually dissolved, but traces could be detected even in the 1980ies yet.


Conclusions of Michael Palomino: No "moon landings" because of the voltage and the radiation

With a voltage of 1 to 100 mio. volt and higher and with radioactive radiation "moon flights" are said having been possible. But the radiation of the moon itself without protecting atmosphere has also to be considered.

So, the "moon landings" were not possible.

This is NO conspiracy theory, you stupid NZZ, but this is logic.

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Picture sources

--  Van Allen belts: http://image.gsfc.nasa.gov/poetry/tour/vanallen.html

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