Bobbie Dickey, age 7, of Tucson, Ariz., for His question;

Why were the Van Allen Belts so named?

These radiation belts above the earth were discovered by American satellites launched during the IGY. The project was under the direction of James A. Van Allen, who announced the amazing news in May, i953. When asked whether the discovery was a belt of radiation, he said that it was. Since that time, the lofty circles of charged particles have been called the Van Allen Belts.

Van Allen was a space minded scientist in his student days. He was interested in cosmic rays, rockets, auroras and outer space. In 1958 he suggested the idea of man made satellites to orbit the earth. In April, 1950, Van Allen and fellow scientists had the marvelous idea which later became the International geophysical Year.