Earth grew an extra, never-before-seen 'radiation belt' after last year's supercharged solar storm — and it's probably still there

NASA CubeSat Discovers New Radiation Belts After Intense Solar Storm

In a groundbreaking discovery, a NASA CubeSat has detected new radiation belts around Earth following a powerful solar storm in May 2024. This discovery reshapes our understanding of how solar activity interacts with Earth’s magnetic field, creating new zones of trapped particles. CubeSat, which was designed to study space weather, has captured data that could have major benefits for satellite operations, astronaut safety, and future space missi…

Earth grew an extra, never-before-seen 'radiation belt' after last year's supercharged solar storm — and it's probably still there

Data collected from a once-defunct NASA satellite show that Earth grew two extra radiation belts following a supercharged geomagnetic storm in May 2024, including a never-before-seen structure that is "likely still there today," researchers say.

Huge solar storm in May 2024 spawned 2 new radiation belts around Earth

The creation of the belts, and others like it in the future, are a potential new danger to astronauts and satellites headed to geostationary orbit and beyond.

Giant Solar Storm Gave Earth A New Proton Belt, NASA's CubeSat Mission Finds

Two new belts formed during the storm. One may last for a "very long time", according to NASA scientists.

NASA CubeSat Finds New Radiation Belts After May 2024 Solar Storm

Greenbelt MD (SPX) Feb 12, 2025 The discovery of the new belts, made possible by NASA's Colorado Inner Radiation Belt Experiment (CIRBE) satellite and published Feb. 6, 2025, in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics, is particularly important for protecting spacecraft launching into geostationary orbits, since they travel through the Van Allen Belts several times before reaching their final orbit. Temporary

Solar Storm Shock: Earth Gains New Radiation Belts!

At FreeAstroScience.com, we are excited to share some remarkable news. A giant solar storm has gifted our planet with new radiation belts. These unexpected features—uncovered by NASA’s CubeSat mission and recent CIRBE/REPTile‐2 measurements—offer fresh insights into Earth’s magnetosphere and space weather. Read on till the end to fully appreciate the discovery and its implications.The purple highlights show the new proton belt.  Image credit: NA…