The Charged Particle Environment of the Earth: The Magnetosphere—A Review

Abstract

The launching of a large number of satellites and space probes has led to a considerable increase in our knowledge of the charged particle environment of the earth. In this article the advances made in the field of magnetosphere in recent years are dealt with. Starting with a review of the ‘solar wind’, its interaction with the magnetic field of the earth is considered in its different aspects. The theoretical and experimental studies made by various workers regarding the formation of the ‘magnetopause’ and the ‘shock- wave’, which arise out of the interaction between the solar wind and the geomagnetic field are reviewed. The stretching of the geomagnetic field in the anti-solar direction leading to the formation of the ‘geomagnetic tail’ is discussed with reference to the different magnetospheric models suggested by Dessler, Dungey and Axford. The part played by the neutral sheet in the auroral and polar geophysical events, which is a subject of much discussion, of late, is briefly dealt with. The study concludes with a consideration of the magnetospheric field models.