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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.
The magnetosphere of Saturn is the cavity created in the flow of the solar wind by the planet's internally generated magnetic field. Discovered in 1979 by the Pioneer 11 spacecraft, Saturn's magnetosphere is the second largest of any planet in the Solar System after Jupiter .
The varying conditions in the magnetosphere, known as space weather, are largely driven by solar activity. 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 ...
Orbiting satellites would be at risk, as a weakened magnetic field would offer less protection against space weather. While life on Earth has weathered multiple magnetic reversals over more than ...
The magnetosphere shields the surface of Earth from the charged particles of the solar wind. (image not to scale.) Atmospheric science initially developed in the late-19th century as a means to forecast the weather through meteorology, the study of weather.
Terrestrial planets are substantially different from the giant planets, which might not have solid surfaces and are composed mostly of some combination of hydrogen, helium, and water existing in various physical states. Terrestrial planets have a compact, rocky surfaces, and Venus, Earth, and Mars each also has an atmosphere. Their size, radius ...
Space weather is a branch of space physics and aeronomy, or heliophysics, concerned with the varying conditions within the Solar System and its heliosphere. This includes the effects of the solar wind , especially on the Earth's magnetosphere , ionosphere , thermosphere , and exosphere . [ 1 ]
Moderately damaging earthquakes strike between New York and Wilmington, Delaware, about twice a century, the USGS said, and smaller earthquakes are felt in the region roughly every two to three years.