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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.
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]
In that case, each term with coefficient g m ℓ or h m ℓ can be split into two terms: one that decreases with radius as 1/r ℓ+1 and one that increases with radius as r ℓ. The increasing terms fit the external sources (currents in the ionosphere and magnetosphere).
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]
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.
As with Earth's magnetosphere, the boundary separating the solar wind's plasma from that within Saturn's magnetosphere is called the magnetopause. [2] The magnetopause distance from the planet's center at the subsolar point [ note 1 ] varies widely from 16 to 27 R s (R s =60,330 km is the equatorial radius of Saturn).
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.
The plasmasphere, or inner magnetosphere, is a region of the Earth's magnetosphere consisting of low-energy (cool) plasma. It is located above the ionosphere . The outer boundary of the plasmasphere is known as the plasmapause , which is defined by an order of magnitude drop in plasma density.