What creates the Van Allen belts?

a. Earth's aurora borealis

b. Earth's gravity

c. Earth's magnetosphere

d. Earth's mantle convection.

The answer is C. The van Allen radiator belts are two regions of radiation that encircle the earth. They are named in honor of James Van Allen, the scientist who led the team that launched the first successful satellite that could detect radioactive particles. The radiation belts are a result of the Earth's magnetic field. Any (of the outer space) bodies with a sufficiently strong magnetic field can form radiation belts. For example Crab Nebula, Jupiter and even the Sun has them. The magnetic field traps particles, accelerating them and forming belts of radiation.