<P> The belts are located in the inner region of the Earth's magnetosphere . The belts trap energetic electrons and protons . Other nuclei, such as alpha particles, are less prevalent . The belts endanger satellites, which must have their sensitive components protected with adequate shielding if they spend significant time in that zone . In 2013, NASA reported that the Van Allen Probes had discovered a transient, third radiation belt, which was observed for four weeks until it was destroyed by a powerful, interplanetary shock wave from the Sun . </P> <P> Kristian Birkeland, Carl Størmer, and Nicholas Christofilos had investigated the possibility of trapped charged particles before the Space Age . Explorer 1 and Explorer 3 confirmed the existence of the belt in early 1958 under James Van Allen at the University of Iowa . The trapped radiation was first mapped by Explorer 4, Pioneer 3 and Luna 1 . </P> <P> The term Van Allen belts refers specifically to the radiation belts surrounding Earth; however, similar radiation belts have been discovered around other planets . The Sun does not support long - term radiation belts, as it lacks a stable, global, dipole field . The Earth's atmosphere limits the belts' particles to regions above 200--1,000 km, (124--620 miles) while the belts do not extend past 8 Earth radii R . The belts are confined to a volume which extends about 65 ° on either side of the celestial equator . </P> <P> The NASA Van Allen Probes mission aims at understanding (to the point of predictability) how populations of relativistic electrons and ions in space form or change in response to changes in solar activity and the solar wind . NASA Institute for Advanced Concepts--funded studies have proposed magnetic scoops to collect antimatter that naturally occurs in the Van Allen belts of Earth, although only about 10 micrograms of antiprotons are estimated to exist in the entire belt . </P>

How many miles up is the van allen belt