Basic
What are the main benefits of the Magnetosphere?
They protect us from space radiation and solar rays.
What are Auroras made of?
Energetic electrons and photons interacting with the Magnetosphere.
What does the magnetosphere protect the Earth from?
Cosmic radiation as well as solar flares, winds, and rays.
Have we interfered with the Magnetosphere?
Yes
What is the field of science that studies the Magnetosphere?
Heliophysics, Space Physics, and/or Plasma Physics.
What are the parts of the Magnetosphere?
Magnetopause, Magnetosheath, Magnetotail
Aurora Borealis
The solar wind continuously flows outward from the Sun and consists mainly of?
protons and electrons in a state known as plasma.
What is one of the ways that we have interacted with the Magnetosphere?
Chemical Atmospheric Experiments and Nuclear Bomb Tests
What does the Magnetosphere look like?
a Magnetic Diopole
What are the subregions of the Magnetosphere?
Polar Horns, Auroral Zones, Plsmasphere, Plasmasheet.
Auroras are also known as?
Northern Lights
What is magnetopause and what is its purpose?
The magnetopause separates the region of magnetic field lines of Earth from the solar wind which prevents the entry of most wind plasma from the Sun into the Earth's magnetosphere.
The solar wind impacts the overall ______ of Earth's magnetosphere.
shape
Is Earth the only planet with a magnetosphere?
No, Earth isn’t the only planet with a magnetosphere. However, Earth has the strongest one of all the rocky planets.
What happens if we don’t have the Magnetosphere?
We would be exposed to lethal cosmic and solar radiation and it would destroy our Ozone layer.
Who discovered Aurora Borealis?
In the early 17th century, the astronomer and scientist Galileo Galilei.
What is the function of the magnetosheath?
plays a fundamental role as its conditions regulate the processes that transfer mass and momentum to the inner magnetosphere.
How does solar wind disrupt the magnetosphere?
Solar wind variations can disturb it, leading to “space weather” producing geomagnetic storms that can penetrate our atmosphere.
What Layer is directly below the Magnetosphere?
The Ionosphere.
How far does the night side part of the Magnetosphere extend?
Approx ~300,000km
When solar material streams strike Earth’s magnetosphere, they can become trapped and held in two donut-shaped belts around the planet called the ________.
Van Allen Belts
What is the magnetosphere controlled by?
The magnetosphere is that area of space, around a planet, that is controlled by the planet's magnetic field.
What time did the Nuclear Bomb Tests take place?
1950s and 1960s
What causes the location of Earth's magnetic north and south poles to gradually shift?
The forces that generate our magnetic field are constantly changing