Van Allen Radiation Belt is a zone of radiation encircling the Earth. To flat-Earthers, Van Allen Radiation Belt is ‘evidence’ of the impossibility of space travel. To the rest of us, the Van Allen Radiation Belt is one of the challenges which is not impossible to overcome.
There are two Van Allen belts:
- The inner belt. Smaller and has stronger radiation.
- The outer belt. Larger and has weaker radiation.
During an intense solar activity, sometimes a temporary third belt may appear.
The Apollo missions simply bypassed the more dangerous inner belt. They did not go anywhere near it. Apollo went through the outer belt which has weaker radiation. And even then, they rushed through the weakest part of it, in not more than a few minutes.
Each of the astronauts wore a personal dosimeter to record the amount of radiation they received. The result? Each astronaut received the same amount of radiation as a single CT-scan, during the entire mission.
The Thermosphere Layer
Flat-Earthers often get confused and think the thermosphere layer is the same as the Van Allen Radiation Belt. The reason is that they use both as ‘evidence’ of the impossibility of space travel in their misguided community.
They are not the same thing. Read more here about the thermosphere layer.
Credit
The illustration is Apollo trajectory by AnnieMouse60 on YouTube.
Reference
- Environment – Radiation and The Van Allen Belts – Clavius
- Van Allen Radiation Belts: Facts and Findings – Space.com
- How NASA Got Apollo Astronauts Through the Dangerous Van Allen Belts – Popular Mechanics
- Apollo Rocketed Through the Van Allen Belts – Popular Science
- How Did Apollo Deal With the Van Allen Belts? – Curious Droid – YouTube
- Apollo Experience Report – Protection Against Radiation – NASA
- Apollo 11’s Translunar Trajectory – Bob Brauenig
- Apollo and the Van Allen Belts – Bob Brauenig
- The Van Allen Belts – Above Top Secret Forum
- TLI Orbit Slice View – AnnieMouse60 – YouTube