music The Van Allen radiation belts: two giant swaths of radiation around Earth were the first discover of the space age in 1958. In August 2012, NASA launched the Van Allen Probes to provide the most detailed picture of the belts ever seen. Within days of launch, the probes revealed a third, never before seen ring of radiation that persisted for about a month. Scientists already knew the belts shrink and swell in response to incoming energy from the sun, but they don't know exactly how. The discovery of a new belt offers additional clues to map out the mysteries of the region, and shows us that first discovery of the space age can still surprise us. beeping