Earth's magnetic field
Earth’s magnetic field or geomagnetic field is a magnetic field generated by inside – Earth sources. The Earth has a liquid iron core, inside of the core are circulating electricity which are creating the magnetic field of the Earth.
Picture 1. Earth's magnetic field
In first approach near the Earth the magnetic field is close to the magnetic field dipole. It means that the Earth looks like a magnetic bar with axis from north to south with an inclination to the Earth’s rotational axis on the angle about 10° (picture 1). Geomagnetic poles axis is inclined of geographical poles axis by the same degree. The South Pole from this dipole is nearby the North Pole of the Earth.
Open the application and choose “Earth’s magnetic field ” module.
In AR are visualized vectors of magnetic lines and the Earth’s rotational axis (picture 2):
Picture 2. Earth's magnetic field in AR
Also, you can see the area of Soth Atlantic Anomaly (picture 3).
Picture 3. South Atlantic Anomaly in AR
It makes the most significant impact on the particle flows (cosmic rays) among all another anomaly. In this area the amount of the magnetic field at sea level like on the height about 1000 km out of anomaly. Earth’s magnetosphere protects spacecrafts on the lower orbits from space’s bad effects., and in Soth Atlantic Anomaly satellites are out of magnetosphere protection and become defenseless in front of the cosmic radiation. That is why a lot of spacecrafts stop their work flying over this area. Monitoring with Hubble space telescope are impossible because of elevated levels of radiation when the telescope flies over this anomaly.
Switch to the mode “Van Allen radiation belts” for visualization of radiation belts (picture 4):
Picture 4. Van Allen radiation belts in AR
Radiation belt is an area of the planet’s magnetosphere, where are collecting and holding entered in magnetosphere high-energy radiation particles (basically protons and electrons). Earth’s radiation belt sometimes call “Van Allen radiation belt” named by an American astrophysicist, who discovered them in 1958 year.
Radiation belt in the first approach is toroid with two areas:
- inner radiation belt on the height ≈ 4000 km, mainly consisting of protons;
- outer radiation belt on the height ≈ 17 000 km, mainly consisting of electrons.
Most of spacecrafts are on the orbit lower the inner radiation belt.