Van Allen radiation belts around Earth. Image showing the existence of a new, transient, third radiation belt around Earth. Radiation belts are layers of energetic charged particles held in place by the magnetic field of a planet. In this image, three distinct radiation belts (red and orange) can be seen around the Earth (centre), with the emergence of a second empty slot region (green) in between the second and outermost third belt. The Van Allen belts are affected by space weather and can swell dramatically during solar storms. When this occurs, they can pose dangers to communications and global positioning system (GPS) satellites, as well as humans in space. Scientists were able to observe the third belt for four weeks before a powerful interplanetary