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4 - Geomagnetic Field Sources

From Earth’s Core to the Sun

from Part II - Geomagnetic Field

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  25 October 2019

By
Daniel N. Baker
Edited by
Mioara Mandea ,
Monika Korte ,
Andrew Yau  and
Eduard Petrovsky
Mioara Mandea
Affiliation:
Centre National d'études Spatiales, France
Monika Korte
Affiliation:
GeoforschungsZentrum, Helmholtz-Zentrum, Potsdam
Andrew Yau
Affiliation:
University of Calgary
Eduard Petrovsky
Affiliation:
Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Prague
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Summary

The geomagnetic field extending outward beyond Earth’s solid surface encounters a strong, highly variable flow of hot ionized gas from the Sun called the solar wind. This compresses and shapes the dayside of Earth’s magnetic field. On the night (anti-sunward) side of the Earth, the magnetic field gets drawn out into a long, comet-like tail. Present evidence is that this magnetotail region extends to hundreds or thousands of Earth radii. Research over the past six decades has revealed much about the various current systems that shape the Earth’s "magnetosphere". This chapter is devoted to providing a broad overview of the individual current systems that, acting together, generate the complex and fascinating geomagnetic field.

Keywords

geomagnetic fieldmagnetospheric current systemssolar wind interactionsmagnetospheric dynamicsextraterrestrial ring currentmagnetotail
Type
Chapter
Information
Geomagnetism, Aeronomy and Space Weather
A Journey from the Earth's Core to the Sun
 , pp. 41 - 47
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2019

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