A region surrounding a planet where charged particles accumulate under the influence of the planet's magnetic field.
Example sentencesExamples
- That orbit regularly takes the station near the auroral zone and the ‘horns’ of the outer radiation belt - where the trapped particles descend toward the atmosphere.
- Other measurements obtained during the mission provided new data on the Earth's radiation belt and the discovery that the Moon has no magnetic field.
- A major finding of the magnetospheric imaging instrument is the discovery of a new radiation belt just above Saturn's cloud tops, up to the inner edge of the D-ring.
- In 1958, the Explorer III became the US's first satellite and it also discovered Earth's radiation belt.
- These radiation belts surround the Earth with a stormy environment of energetic particles that could affect the electronic systems and computers on board the spacecraft.