Gaps in the Earth's Radiation Belts
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The Earth's radiation belts (violet & white) change considerably due to a number of influences, ranging from a changing solar wind to the lightning on the Earth. Here we see a range of variation in the electron flux in early December 2003. White indicates higher electron flux than violet. The gray curves represent the lines of the Earth's magnetic field. These radiation belts are constructed on a per-orbit basis with data from SAMPEX.
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The IMAGE satellite passes through the Earth's radiation environment.
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Inner and outer belts have a relatively faint gap between them.
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The IMAGE satellite (red dot with trail) moves into view.
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More energetic electrons are cleared out, created a more well-defined gap between the belts.
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The gap has become larger as the inner belt shrinks.
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