Earth’s magnetic field is a protective layer for the third planet of the solar system. It is is an invisible shield that protects our planet from the effects of cosmic radiation.
In fact, the Earth is a huge magnet. Its poles do not converge with geographic, and the magnetic field lines extend thousands of kilometers into space.
It is necessary to separate the geographical and magnetic coordinates separately, because there is a remarkable distance between them. The magnet axis is deflected from the usual 11.3 degrees. Magnetic poles are shifted to 15 km per year.
It is believed that the magnetic field is formed by electric currents generated by the external core in the liquid state. Inside there is a convection, which leads to the release of current flows. Researchers are constantly monitoring indicators, so you can find out what the magnetic field of the Earth is today or on any other day.
It is necessary to thank for the presence of a magnetic field, because we have a reliable shield. The sun is dangerous because of its wind. The magnetosphere does not allow harmful particles inside and causes it to bend around the planet. If it were not for the field, then we would resemble the Martian desert.
The magnetic field changes every 250,000 years: the north becomes south. There is no exact explanation for this turn. The last occurred 780000 years ago. Now you know what the magnetic field of the Earth looks like and its protective functions.
The magnetic shield of the Earth is booming like a drum
Scientists for the first time managed to fix the vibrations of the earth’s magnetopause and show that the magnetic shield of our planet thunders like a drum under the influence of strong impulses of the solar wind. The results of the study are presented in the journal Nature Communications.
It was believed that these drum vibrations are either incredibly difficult to fix, or they may not occur at all, given the lack of evidence of their existence for 45 years since they were proposed by theorists.
-Martin Archer, lead author of a study from the University of London Queen Mary (United Kingdom)
The Earth’s magnetopause is the boundary of the magnetosphere, protecting us from harmful cosmic radiation, where the pressure of the magnetic field is equal to the pressure of the surrounding plasma, which is mainly the solar wind, the charged particles emitted by our star.
Half a century ago, it was suggested that as the plasma hits the outer boundary of the Earth’s protective screen, the ripple from the impact spreads along its surface and then reflects as it approaches the magnetic poles. The interaction of the initial and reflected waves leads to the formation of a standing wave, in which certain points appear fixed, while others vibrate back and forth.
However, no evidence of such a process has so far been found until NASA THEMIS satellites entered the business, once successfully located in space in the right place at the right time, when a strong isolated plasma flow crashed into the magnetopause.
After examining the evidence collected by the five probes at that “happy” moment, scientists were able to detect border oscillations and the resulting sounds in the Earth’s magnetic shield, which are fully consistent with the theory and make it possible to exclude all other possible explanations.
Other planets, such as Mercury, Jupiter and Saturn, also have similar magnetic shields, so vibrations similar to those of the Earth can be observed among them. To understand how often this drum noise occurs and what its consequences are, we need to continue observations using satellites and ground-based instruments.
Earth's magnetic field
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