Magnetosphere is not spherical but it shaped like an elongated teardrop
with rounded end of the teardrop facing towards the Sun.
Magnetosphere in blue diagram.
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1 : Bow shock    2 : Magnetosheath    3 : Magnetopause    4 : Magnetosphere
5 : Northern tail lobe    6 : Southern tail lobe    7 : Plasmasphere
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Earth’s Magnetosphere
- 1: Bow shock  –  immediately to the sunward side of the magnetopause is a shockwave; this is called the bow shock – that is caused by the solar wind being deflected by the magnetopause.
- 2: Magnetosheath  –  the region of space between the magnetopause and the bow shock of a Earth’s magnetosphere.
- 3: Magnetopause  –  the sunward edge of the magnetosphere is called the magnetopause and is located about 438,000 miles from the Earth.
- 4: Magnetosphere  –  the region of space within the influence of earth’s magnetic field – the magnetosphere shields the earth from most of the effects of the solar wind.
- 5: Northern tail lobe  –  on the side away from the Sun – the magnetosphere trails away like the tail of a comet in what is known as the magnetotail.
- 6: Southern tail lobe  –  on the side away from the Sun – the magnetosphere trails away like the tail of a comet in what is known as the magnetotail.
- 7: Plasmasphere  –  Earth’s plasmasphere is an inner part of the magnetosphere. It is located just outside the upper ionosphere located in Earth’s atmosphere.
Ionosphere layers
Magnetosphere
- although the magnetosphere deflects most of the charged particles coming from the Sun and cosmic rays, some get through and become concentrated in two doughnut-shaped regions of radiation known as the Van Allen belts.
- 8 planets in our solar system – Venus and Mars are the only two that do not have  their own magnetosphere.
Magnetosphere:- Venus
Magnetosphere:- Mars
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- Jupiter has by far the largest magnetosphere and its magnetosphere is located about nearly 4 million miles from the Jupiter’s surface.
Magnetosphere:- Jupiter
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- magnetism of Earth’s Moon – too weak to produce a magnetosphere, but two of Jupiter’s moons – Io and Ganymede, have magnetic fields of enough strength. (diagram: Io / Ganymede)
Magnetosphere
Jupiter and Jupiter’s Io
Magnetosphere
Jupiter’s moon – Ganymede
Did you know?
- stars also produce magnetic fields and have magnetospheres too – the Sun’s magnetosphere is called the heliosphere and its magnetopause (called the heliopause) has a radius of more than 7,440 billion miles.
Heliopause
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