(36 kb) From the University of Oregon This drawing shows the Earth, and its magnetic field lines (dotted) with the two van Allen Belts drawn as nested donuts with a cut-away to show the Inner and Outer Belts. The thickness of the Belts is actually smaller than their true extent.

   (23 kb) From Los Alamos National Laboratory This rendering shows the Inner (green) and Outer (purple) Belts, but the sizes of these belts are closer to their real dimensions.

   (9 kb) From Dr. Holbert's ASU Course The scale for this figure is about right, but it shows the South Atlantic Anomaly as a 'pimple' on the inside of the Inner Belt. This is incorrect.

   (112 kb) From the Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory Radiation Effects Branch This colorized drawing gets the Inner (Blue) and Outer (Purple) Belts correct in size and shape. The problem is that the magnetic field looks like it is aligned with the rotation axis of Earth. This is incorrect. The magnetic field is tilted about 11 degrees and the van Allen Belts are symmetric around the magnetic axis not the rotation axis.

   (52 kb) From the University of Michigan This is a plot of the radiation dosages to silicon (a common electronic circuit material) based on actual CRRES satellite data extrapolated to fill-in missing data regions. You can easily see the Inner and Outer Belts in the intensity of the actual data!

   (17kb) From the Online Dictionary This is an odd figure that shows Earth surrounded by its distorted magnetic field (outer blue and lavender colors). Inside, you see what is probably supposed to be the Outer Belt (blue) and Inner Belt (aqua). In fact, these cannot be the Belts at all because on the right-hand side of Earth the inner edge of the Inner Belt is tangent to Earth's equator!

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When Earth's magnetic field is disturbed by a solar storm event, many changes occur which lead to complex rearrangements of earth's magnetosphere, and the particles that flow within it. This computer model was calculated for one such 'magnetospheric substorm' to show the complexity of these rearrangements. The lines are a few of the magnetic field lines from earth. The density of the trapped plasma (charged particles) is also shown in colors that denote large and small values.

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As the magnetic field of Earth undergoes a storm, trapped particles flow in specific ways as magnetic fields compress and energize them. This computer model shows how protons (the nuclei of hydrogen atoms) flow within a radiation belt during a magnetic substorm. The lines are the magnetic field lines of earth, and the balls represent a few of the trillions of protons which are flowing in the various belts and currents. The colors represent the different energies carried by the protons.

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At the same time the protons are flowing around Earth and being energized by magnetic forces, electrons are also flowing in similar regions of space. This computer model shows many similarities and differences between the electron belts and the proton belts. As before, The colors represent the various energies of the electrons while the lines represent the calculated locations of Earth's magnetic field.