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The Earth's Magnetosphere
In spite of its low density, the solar wind, and its accompanying magnet field, is strong enough to interact with the planets and their magnetic fields to shape magnetospheres. A magnetosphere is the region surrounding a planet where the planet's magnetic field dominates. Because the ions in the solar plasma are charged, they interact with these magnetic fields, and solar wind particles are swept around planetary magnetospheres. Life on Earth has developed under the protection of this magnetosphere.
The shape of the Earth's magnetosphere is the direct result of being blasted by solar wind. Solar wind compresses its sunward side to a distance of only 6 to 10 times the radius of the Earth. A supersonic shock wave is created sunward of Earth somewhat like a sonic boom. This shock wave is called the bow shock. Most of the solar wind particles are heated and slowed at the bow shock and detour around the Earth. Solar wind drags out the night-side magnetosphere to possibly 1000 times Earth's radius; its exact length is not known. This extension of the magnetosphere is known as the magnetotail. Many other planets in our solar system have magnetospheres of similar, solar wind-influenced shapes.
More about the magnetosphere...
Still more about the magnetosphere...
Dynamic modeling of the
Earth's bow shock and magnetopause -- Real time data from the ACE spacecraft are used to predict the shape and location of these boundaries at the present time and into the near future. -- from Polar/PIXIE
QuickTime movie of the effects of space weather on the magnetosphere -- UCLA
April 26, 2012: Pigeons
may 'hear' magnetic fields -- Nature
April 6, 2012: Mysteries
of the sun...explained in video -- NASA
March 9, 2012: New
study proves the magnetosphere protects Earth -- Astrobiology
March 8, 2012: Earth's
magnetic field provides vital protection -- ESA
February 27, 2012: Mysterious
electron acceleration explained -- MIT
February 25, 2012: Plasmas torn
apart -- Caltech
February 11, 2012: Computer
simulations of Earth's turbulent magnetosphere -- Astrobiology
December 28, 2011: Tracking
the magnetic south pole -- Nature
December 22, 2011: Mercury's
magnetic field -- nipped in the bud -- Max Planck Institute
December 3, 2011: Earth
flips magnetic poles all the time -- Astrobiology
November 29, 2011: Earth's
bow shock is remarkably thin -- Astrobiology
September 29, 2011: MESSENGER data paints new
picture of Mercury's magnetic field -- University of British
Columbia
September 23, 2011: Pole
flips tied to plate tectonics -- Science News
August 23, 2011: Turtles
surf the magnetic ocean -- New Scientist
August 10, 2011: Antimatter
found orbiting Earth -- a first -- National Geographic
July 4, 2011: Earth's
core is melting and freezing -- Astrobiology
June 23, 2011: Can
humans sense Earth's magnetism? -- Astrobiology
May 13, 2011: Evidence that
cosmic rays seed clouds -- Physics World
May 2, 2011: Goddard
building instrument to study reconnection -- NASA
April 21, 2011: Electron
beams link Enceladus to Saturn -- Astrobiology
March 21, 2011: The
importance of being magnetized -- Astrobiology
March 6, 2011: Adjust
your compass now -- Independent
February 22, 2011: Launching
balloons in Antarctica -- NASA
February 17, 2011: Catching
space weather in the act -- NASA
February 17, 2011: Cassini
to sample magnetic environment around Titan -- NASA
January 15, 2011: IBEX
makes first images of magnetotail structures, dynamic interactions
occurring in space -- Science Daily
December 16, 2010: First
measurement of magnetic field in Earth's core -- Eurekalert
December 14, 2010: Hot
plasma explosions inflate Saturn's magnetic field -- NASA
December 8, 2010: Earth's
core lightens up -- Nature
October 5, 2010: MAVEN
mission to investigate how sun steals Martian atmosphere -- NASA
October 1, 2010: Q&A:
Missions, meetings, and the radial tire model of the magnetosphere
-- NASA
September 15, 2010: Fast
flip of Earth's poles -- Science News
July 15, 2010: A
violent tail -- Science News
May 11, 2010: Earth's magnetic
field gathers momentum -- Physics World
April 15, 2010: Enceladus
leaves plasma bubbles in its wake -- Astronomy
April 14, 2010: Mini
magnetic sheild found on the Moon -- National Geographic
April 14, 2010: Mercury's
magnetic twisters -- Science News
March 10, 2010: The
battle between the Earth and Sun -- Astrobiology
March 9, 2010: Earth's magnetic
field older than we thought -- Physics World
March 4, 2010: Shields
down! Earth's mag field may drop in a flash -- New Scientist
January 20, 2010: Multiple
rifts in Earth's magnetic shield -- ESA
December 24, 2009: North
magnetic pole moving east due to core flux -- National Geographic
September 17, 2009: Ganymede's
magnetosphere makes a big impression on Jupiter's auroral
lightshows -- Astronomy.com
September 17, 2009: Jupiter
auroras fed by largest moon's magnetic "bubble" -- National
Geographic
September 14, 2009: New
transient radiation belt discovered at Saturn -- Astronomy.com
September 1, 2009: Can magnetism
save a vaporizing planet? -- Sky & Telescope
July 21, 2009: NASA's
Magnetospheric MultiScale Mission takes a step closer to solving the
mystery behind magnetic reconnection -- NASA
July 2, 2009: AGU
journal highlights -- #11 -- Eurekalert
June 22, 2009: Shifts
in Earth's magnetic field driven by oceans? -- National Geographic
June 14, 2009: The Earth's magnetic
field remains a charged mystery -- IOP
June 14, 2009: Earth's magnetic
field perturbed by 'electric oceans', claims researcher -- Physics
World
June 2, 2009: Magnetic
tornadoes could liberate Mercury's tenuous atmosphere -- NASA
May 29, 2009: Sun
stealing Earth's atmosphere -- National Geographic
May 29, 2009: Waves
in Earth's radiation belt get mapped -- Science Daily
May 27, 2009: Bricks,
mortar and magnetism -- Science News
May 11, 2009: "Supergiant"
asteroid shut down Mars's magnetic field -- National Geographic
April 30, 2009: Magnetic
twisters "dance" across Mercury, study says -- National
Geographic --
April 30, 2009: Active
Mercury -- Science@NASA
April 29, 2009: Watching
solar activity muddle Earth's magnetic field -- ESA
April 24, 2009: Multipolar dance
could flip Earth's magnetic field -- Physics World
February 11, 2009: ESA extends
missions studying Mars, Venus and Earth's magnetosphere [last
article] -- ESA
January 8, 2009: Magnetic
fields could reveal exoplanets -- Physics World
January 7, 2009: "Warm
plasma cloak" discovered enveloping Earth -- National
Geographic
December 16, 2008: Sun
often "tears out a wall" in Earth's solar storm shield -- NASA
THEMIS
December 15, 2008: A
giant breach in Earth's magnetic field -- Science@NASA
October 30, 2008: Magnetic
portals connect Sun and Earth -- Science@NASA
September 25, 2008: Lava flows reveal clues to
magnetic field reversals -- University of Wisconsin - Madison
August 28, 2008: Cluster
watches Earth's leaky atmosphere -- ESA
July 19, 2008: Asteroid
switched Mars' magnetic field on and off -- New Scientist
July 10, 2008: Enhanced color
Caloris -- APOD
June 30, 2008: Earth's
core, magnetic field changing fast, study says -- National
Geographic
June 23, 2008: XMM-Newton
watches lazy pulsar being jazzed up by companion -- ESA
June 4, 2008: Iron
snow behind Mercury's magnetism -- Scientific American
June 2, 2008: Building
a baby Earth to test its magnetic field -- NPR
May 8, 2008: Iron
'snow' helps maintain Mercury's magnetic field --
Astronomy.com
April 30, 2008: Team of
researchers explain how birds navigate -- ASU
April 30, 2008: 'Chemical
compass' created -- Nature
April 28, 2008: 'Broken
heart' image the last for NASA's long-lived Polar mission -- NASA
GSFC
April 17, 2008: The
moon and the magnetotail -- Science@NASA
March 13, 2008: Japanese
satellite first to use magnetic memory -- Scientific American
March 9, 2008: New
discovery at Jupiter could help protect Earth-orbit satellites --
Eurekalert
February 25, 2008: Killer
electrons surf celestial tsunamis -- NASA GSFC
February 1, 2008: The first
Explorer -- APOD
January 31, 2008: New
discovery on magnetic reconnection to impact future space missions
-- Science Daily
January 30, 2008: Mercury's
magnetosphere fends off the solar wind -- Eurekalert
December 31, 2007: Titan's
plasma wake (see #16) -- Eurekalert
December 20, 2007: News
from Earth's magnetic field -- Eurekalert
December 13, 2007: Earth's
protective magnetic field -- Astronomy.com
December 13, 2007: Earth's
magnetosphere: On the ropes -- Sky & Telescope
December 11, 2007: Earth's
magnetic field could help protect astronauts working on the moon
-- Eurekalert
November 28, 2007: UNH
scientists report first findings on key astrophysics problem --
Eurekalert
October 3, 2007: Comet Encke's
tail ripped off -- APOD
September 12, 2007: Cluster
and Double Star uncover more on bright aurorae -- Science Daily
August 22, 2007: What makes Mars
magnetic? -- Spaceflight Now
August 1, 2007: Mmmm,
space chips -- Popular Science
June 1, 2007: Pioneering
3D view of near-Earth magnetic 'dance' -- Science Daily
April 13, 2007: Cluster sees tsunamis in space -- SpaceDaily
March 29, 2007: Magnetic fields get reconnected in turbulent plasma too, Cluster reveals -- SpaceDaily
March 12, 2007: Cluster opens a new window on 'magnetic reconnection' in the near-Earth space -- EurekAlert!
February 20, 2007: Lockheed Martin scientists determine magnetic reconnection locations at Earth's magnetopause -- SpaceDaily
February 9, 2007: Cluster - new insights into the electric circuits of polar lights -- European Space Agency
January 24, 2007: Storm hunt: spacecraft quintet to track down magnetic field tempests -- Space.com
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