MSU scientists announced new discoveries in the field of Earth’s magnetosphere interaction with the solar wind and significant achievements in the field of organic electronics.
Solar wind – a stream of helium-hydrogen plasma (ionized gas) flowing from the Sun into the surrounding space.
Magnetosphere – the area surrounding Earth where the effects of the magnetic field ois balanced with the solar wind. The outer boundary of the magnetosphere, where the strength of the magnetic field of the Earth is balanced by the pressure of the incoming solar wind is called the Magnetopause.
The magnetosphere protects our planet from harmful space radiation, but its external border “is not strong.” Periodically the magnetopause is crossed by fast and dense plumes of plasma (plasma jets). Scientists of the research Institute of nuclear after Skobeltsyn (Moscow state University) have found that these jets are able to cross even in “calm” conditions. This is a source in the formation of the Earth’s radiation belts and the generation of geomagnetic storms and substorms.
The circumstances and mechanisms of penetration of plasma, published in the journal of Geophysical Research, give scientists a new understanding of the interaction between the solar wind and the magnetosphere of our planet.
