The region around a planet dominated by the planet's magnetic field. Other planets in our solar system have magnetospheres, but Earth has the strongest one of all the rocky planets: Earth's magnetosphere is a vast, comet-shaped bubble. Life on Earth initially developed and continues to be sustained under the protection of this magnetic environment. The magnetosphere shields our planet from solar and cosmic particle radiation, as well as erosion of the atmosphere by the solar wind. It is generated by the convective motion of charged, molten iron, far below the surface in Earth's outer core. Constant bombardment by the solar wind compresses the sun-facing side of our magnetic field. The sun-facing side, or dayside, extends a distance of about six to 10 times the radius of the Earth. The side of the magnetosphere facing away from the sun - the night side - stretches out into an immense magnetotail, which fluctuates in length and can measure hundreds of Earth radii, far past the moon's orbit at 60 Earth radii.
Published in Chapter:
Space Weather and Link to Climate Change
Hamid Nebdi (Chouaïb Doukkali University, Morocco)
Copyright: © 2019
|Pages: 20
DOI: 10.4018/978-1-5225-7775-1.ch001
Abstract
Our nearest shining star, the Sun, source of radiations and energy, sometimes generates severe events and phenomena in space which can affect our technology and biosphere. On the other hand, space weather, as defined by National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), is conditions on the Sun and in the solar wind, magnetosphere, ionosphere, and thermosphere that can influence the performance and reliability of space-borne and ground-based technological systems and can endanger human life or health. A brief description of the Sun-Earth connection is firstly presented. Secondly, a particular attention is given to highlight the Sun's variability and the link between the space weather and climate change by means of some recent studies.