Earth has many incorporating parts that make it what it is. There’s a few of those incorporating parts that help the Earth sustain life. Since we are the life on Earth, we should discuss what is helping us live and how it is doing so. One of those is a Magnetosphere. What is it exactly, why is it important for us to know, and how is it helping us?
What is the magnetosphere? The question should really read: What is a magnetosphere, because it’s not just on our planet Earth, but it’s also on other planets as well. “The magnetosphere is the region around a planet dominated by the planet’s magnetic field. Other planets in our solar system have magnetosphere, but Earth has the strongest one of all the rocky planets” (Magnetosphere).
The magnetosphere is made up of several different regions that make it what it is. There is the inner magnetosphere which “extends from the “nose” to a distance of about 8 RE (Earth radii)” and is a “stable region, populated by the inner and the outer radiation belt” (Stern).
Next is the plasma sheet which “…is a thick layer of hot plasma centered on the tail’s equator” and is the opposite of the inner magnetosphere, since it’s “…rather dynamic: thickness, density, and energy very greatly, and the plasma often flows rapidly in various directions” (Stern).
Then, there are the tail lobes. They are the “…two regions of relatively smooth magnetic field, north and south of the plasma sheet” and “is almost empty of plasma” (Stern). Many scientists believe that this is the area of the magnetosphere where the storms draw their energy from. Other regions of the magnetosphere include, boundary layers and a neutral hydrogen cloud (Stern).
Interesting enough, the magnetosphere is made up of charged particles that cause “…many wonderful natural phenomena such as the aurora and natural radio emissions such as lion roars and whistler waves” (Russel). The charged “particles move and circulate about the magnetosphere and even generate storms” and even “changes constantly, even flipping its orientation every few thousand years” (Russel).
How has it helped us though? “Earth’s magnetosphere is a vast, comet-shaped bubble, which has played a crucial in our planet’s habitability. Life on Earth initially developed and continues to be sustained under the protection of this magnetic environment” (Magnetosphere). Because of this magnetic shield over our Earth, we have been able to live and continue to live on it.
Protection is crucial for our survivability on Earth. Protection from “…solar and cosmic particle radiation, as well as erosion of the atmosphere by the solar wind – the constant flow of charged particles streaming off the sun” (Magnetosphere).
Earth needs the magnetosphere to protect us from ongoing space activity. Without it, we wouldn’t be here and that’s the importance of it. The magnetosphere is interesting to learn about because we should know what is protecting us and what is going on with the Earth since we live on it. Always strive to enlighten yourself with the wonders of space and the world.
References
Magnetospheres. (n.d.). Retrieved May 20, 2017, from https://science.nasa.gov/heliophysics/focus-areas/magnetosphere-ionosphere
Russel, R. (2008, December 03). Magnetosphere. Retrieved May 20, 2017, from http://www.windows2universe.org/physical_science/magnetism/planetary_magnetospheres.html
Stern, D. P. (2006, March 13). #20. The Earth’s Magnetosphere. Retrieved May 20, 2017, from http://www.phy6.org/Education/wms2.html
