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A rendering of the magnetic field lines of the magnetosphere of the Earth. In astronomy and planetary science, a magnetosphere is a region of space surrounding an astronomical object in which charged particles are affected by that object's magnetic field. [1] [2] It is created by a celestial body with an active interior dynamo.
If the solar wind is weak, the magnetosphere expands; while if it is strong, it compresses the magnetosphere and more of it gets in. Periods of particularly intense activity, called geomagnetic storms, can occur when a coronal mass ejection erupts above the Sun and sends a shock wave through the Solar System. Such a wave can take just two days ...
It incorporates aspects of chemistry, physics, and biology as elements of geology interact. Historical geology is the application of geology to interpret Earth history and how it has changed over time. Geochemistry studies the chemical components and processes of the Earth. Geophysics studies the physical properties of the Earth.
That velocity just stays constant (as long as the field does), and adding the two motions together gives a spiral around a central guiding field line. If the field curves or changes, the motion is modified, but the general character of spiraling around a central field line persists: hence the name "guiding center motion." [citation needed]
Data from Mariner 10 led to its discovery in 1974; the spacecraft measured the field's strength as 1.1% that of Earth's magnetic field. [10] The origin of the magnetic field can be explained by dynamo theory. [11] The magnetic field is strong enough near the bow shock to slow the solar wind, which induces a magnetosphere. [12]
The heliosphere is the magnetosphere, astrosphere, and outermost atmospheric layer of the Sun.It takes the shape of a vast, tailed bubble-like region of space.In plasma physics terms, it is the cavity formed by the Sun in the surrounding interstellar medium.
The magnetosphere contains charged particles that are trapped from the stellar wind, which then move along these field lines. As the star rotates, the magnetosphere rotates with it, dragging along the charged particles. [13] As stars emit matter with a stellar wind from the photosphere, the magnetosphere creates a torque on the ejected matter.
The trapped radiation was first mapped by Explorer 4, Pioneer 3, and Luna 1. The term Van Allen belts refers specifically to the radiation belts surrounding Earth; however, similar radiation belts have been discovered around other planets. The Sun does not support long-term radiation belts, as it lacks a stable, global dipole field.