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Interplanetary shocks, traveling toward Earth from the Sun, have been observed and studied before, what is of major interest in the event reported are the direct observations of the effects of the shock on Earth’s Van Allen radiation belts with sufficient detail to reveal the processes taking place. Although the main strength of the solar shock is deflected by the magnetic shield that surrounds our planet, a brief pulse of energy penetrates closer to Earth where it accelerates radiation belt electrons to ultra-relativistic energies in less than a minute.