Interplanetary magnetic field

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
The heliospheric current sheet is a three-dimensional form of a Parker spiral that results from the influence of the Sun's rotating magnetic field on the plasma in the interplanetary medium.[1]

The interplanetary magnetic field (IMF), now more commonly referred to as the heliospheric magnetic field (HMF),

solar magnetic field that is dragged out from the solar corona by the solar wind flow to fill the Solar System
.

Coronal and solar wind plasma

The

magnetic tension force
and the coronal magnetic field is dragged out by the solar wind to form the HMF.

The dynamic

Parker spiral[4]) by the combination of the outward motion and the Sun's rotation
. In near-Earth space, the HMF nominally makes an angle of approximately 45° to the Earth–Sun line, though this angle varies with solar wind speed. The angle of the HMF to the radial direction reduces with helio-latitude, as the speed of the photospheric footpoint is reduced.

Depending on the polarity of the photospheric footpoint, the heliospheric magnetic field spirals inward or outward; the magnetic field follows the same shape of spiral in the northern and southern parts of the heliosphere, but with opposite field direction. These two magnetic domains are separated by a two

ballerina
skirt, and changes in shape through the solar cycle as the Sun's magnetic field reverses about every 11 years.

Magnetic field at Earth orbit

A video simulation of Earth's magnetic field interacting with the (solar) interplanetary magnetic field (IMF)

The

MHD dynamo
.

The interplanetary magnetic field at the Earth's orbit varies with waves and other disturbances in the solar wind, known as "

Lagrange Point L1; since July 2016, it has been monitored by the Deep Space Climate Observatory (DSCOVR) satellite, and also at Sun–Earth L1 (with the ACE continuing to serve as a back-up measurement).[6]

See also

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Interplanetary magnetic field.
  1. ^ helio.gif (350×273) (Image).
  2. S2CID 122870891
    .
  3. ISBN 9781402044236
  4. ^ Parker, E. N., "Dynamics of the Interplanetary Gas and Magnetic Fields", (1958) Astrophysical Journal, vol. 128, p.664
  5. ^ Glossary, interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) Archived 2012-04-29 at the Wayback Machine, Southwest Research Institute. Retrieved 11 February 2020.
  6. ^ The Interplanetary Magnetic Field (IMF), Space Weather Live. Retrieved 11 February 2020.
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