{"id":452,"date":"2021-10-08T09:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-10-08T09:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pscsolaruk.com\/blog\/?p=452"},"modified":"2021-10-07T10:19:44","modified_gmt":"2021-10-07T10:19:44","slug":"when-the-solar-wind-hits-earths-magnetosphere-a-surprising-stillness-ensues","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pscsolaruk.com\/blog\/when-the-solar-wind-hits-earths-magnetosphere-a-surprising-stillness-ensues\/","title":{"rendered":"When the solar wind hits Earth’s magnetosphere, a surprising stillness ensues"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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The boundary of Earth\u2019s magnetic bubble (blue) forms a seemingly standing wave across most of its front. Credit: Imperial College London
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Energy from the solar<\/a> wind interacting with the magnetospheric ‘bubble’ around Earth creates waves of energy that appear to stand still.<\/p>

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This new finding, from research led by Imperial scientists, improves our understanding of the conditions around Earth that contribute to ‘space weather’, which can impact our technology from communications satellites<\/a> in orbit to power lines<\/a> on the ground.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Sun releases a stream of charged particles called the solar wind. On the Earth’s surface, we are protected from this barrage by the magnetosphere\u2014a bubble created by the Earth’s magnetic field<\/a>.<\/p>

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When the solar wind hits the magnetosphere, waves of energy are transferred along the boundary between the two. Scientists thought the waves should ripple in the direction of the solar wind, but the new study, published today in Nature Communications<\/em>, reveals some waves do just the opposite.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Standing waves<\/strong><\/p>

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Previously, lead researcher Dr. Martin Archer, from the Department of Physics at Imperial, and his colleagues established the magnetosphere’s boundary vibrates like a drum. When a drumstick-like pulse from the solar wind strikes the very front of our magnetospheric bubble, waves race toward Earth’s magnetic poles and get reflected back.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The latest work considers the waves that form across the entire surface of the magnetosphere, using a combination of models and observations from NASA’s THEMIS (Time History of Events and Macroscale Interactions during Substorms) satellites.<\/p>

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