The most powerful solar storm to impact Earth in decades caused the temporary formation of radiation belts around Earth, NASA recently announced. A NASA CubeSat satellite made the discovery, which provided greater insight into the impacts of solar events.

Radiation belts are a normal part of the architecture of a planet with a global magnetic field. Stars are constantly leaking particles, borne by a stellar wind; these stream out and, where they encounter planetary magnetic fields, become entrapped, forming vast belts in toroidal formation around the planet in the center.