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  • Print publication year: 2019
  • Online publication date: October 2019

4 - Geomagnetic Field Sources

from Part II - Geomagnetic Field
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Summary

The geomagnetic field extending outward beyond Earth’s solid surface encounters a strong, highly variable flow of hot ionized gas from the Sun called the solar wind. This compresses and shapes the dayside of Earth’s magnetic field. On the night (anti-sunward) side of the Earth, the magnetic field gets drawn out into a long, comet-like tail. Present evidence is that this magnetotail region extends to hundreds or thousands of Earth radii. Research over the past six decades has revealed much about the various current systems that shape the Earth’s "magnetosphere". This chapter is devoted to providing a broad overview of the individual current systems that, acting together, generate the complex and fascinating geomagnetic field.

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