The magnetic field of earth protects us from solar wind as we know it, but after the solar wind interacts our magnetic field.
Does the magnetic field of earth restore after it deflects the solar wind from the sun?
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2 Answers
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Remember that a magnetic field is just that: a field . There's no mass there. Its shape depends on the electromagnetic properties of Earth -- primarily the behavior of the outer core.
When there's a significant Solar ejection, the electrically active particles in that mass cause local changes in the magnetic field pattern (equivalent to isobars , or lines of constant field strength, etc.) So long as the solar ejecta do not damage the Earth in any significant way, once the particles are gone, the field lines will revert to their default layout.
answered Aug 28, 2019 at 15:27
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Yes. After the charged particles that have distorted the magnetic field passed, it goes back to normal. Otherwise it could not have been doing this for the last few billion years.
This then looks something like this (data from the ACE satellite):
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$\begingroup$ Interesting! Which direction does the Earth's spin point in this one? Also could you link a source for the data please? $\endgroup$ Aug 28, 2019 at 11:14
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$\begingroup$ This gif is actually pretty old and the exact source for the data not easily traceable. See here: reddit.com/r/space/comments/dot7b/… $\endgroup$ Aug 28, 2019 at 11:24
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1$\begingroup$ Here's some real-time data from that satellite: swpc.noaa.gov/products/ace-real-time-solar-wind $\endgroup$ Aug 28, 2019 at 16:49
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1$\begingroup$ @Magic Octopus Urn Thanks, that is pretty awesome. I will add that to the answer, if thats ok. $\endgroup$ Aug 28, 2019 at 18:10
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$\begingroup$ @SpaceBread space.stackexchange.com/questions/38428/… I asked a follow-up about that data too. $\endgroup$ Aug 28, 2019 at 18:12