Beyond the belts the rate never hits zero — deep-space GCR ≈ 1.8 mSv/day (LEO ≈ 0.5). A slow transit multiplies belt dose; Apollo crossed in minutes on purpose.
Positions follow the analytic dipole (r = L·cos²λ, 11.5° tilt + offset → the S. Atlantic Anomaly). Density approximates AE9/AP9 flux. Drift directions physical (e⁻ east, ions west). Gyration implied; colors illustrative. Live Kp/solar wind: NOAA SWPC. Belt audio: NASA/University of Iowa (EMFISIS).
The Shield & the Gate
The belts are not a hazard nature built to trap you — they're where Earth's magnetic field parks the radiation it deflects, holding it far above everything that lives. The floor breathes because this barrier is up there doing its job.
1962 — the inversion
On 9 July 1962 the US detonated a 1.4-megaton warhead at 400 km (Starfish Prime). It flooded the inner region with an artificial electron belt that killed a third of all satellites then in orbit — including Telstar, launched the very next day. The shield was turned into a weapon. The USSR did the same over Kazakhstan (Project K). No one has since — the 1963 test ban locked the door.
Run the Starfish Prime scenario to watch the artificial belt inject and decay over years.
Public science page. The interpretive "shield→gate" reading is offered as a lens, not a claim. Facts are sourced; conclusions are yours.
drag to orbit · scroll to zoom
Earth's radiation belts — live
Two shells of charged particles trapped by Earth's magnetic field: an inner proton belt (gold), a near-empty slot, and a broad outer electron belt (cyan) — right now reacting to real space weather.
Drag to orbit · scroll / pinch to zoom · pick a scenario at left
WebGL required
This live radiation-belt instrument needs WebGL, which your browser or device has disabled. The Van Allen belts are two doughnut-shaped shells of charged particles trapped by Earth's magnetic field — an inner proton belt near 1.5 Earth-radii, a near-empty "slot," and a broad outer electron belt out to ~6 Earth-radii.