drag to orbit · scroll to zoom · press C to launch a CME · H for the field guide
FIELD GUIDE
The Sun (right, +X) hurls a supersonic plasma stream at Earth. Earth's dipole field carves out a cavity — the magnetosphere — whose boundary (the magnetopause, Shue et al. 1997 model) stands off the flow ~10 Earth radii upstream. A detached bow shock forms upstream, slowing and heating the wind, which then slips around the cavity and streams down the tail.
WHAT YOU'RE SEEING
Solar wind particles — they glow as they pile up and deflect at the bow shock
Bow shock & magnetopause shrouds — compress when wind pressure or storms rise
Dipole field lines, with trapped particles bouncing between mirror points
Inner Van Allen belt (protons, drifting west) · outer belt (electrons, drifting east)
Auroral ovals — animated curtains that brighten and expand toward the equator in storms
Cusp rain — plasma funnelling into the dayside polar cusps
Plasma sheet — the rippling current sheet inside the magnetotail
CONTROLS
drag orbit · wheel / pinch zoom · right-drag pan
C launch CME · Space pause · A auto-orbit · M sound · S save PNG · Q quality · H this guide
SOLAR WIND slider drives dynamic pressure — watch the whole cavity breathe. STORM LEVEL (Kp) energises the belts, cusp rain and aurora.
A CME impact slams the boundary earthward, flares the aurora and pumps the outer belt. Sound on for solar-wind hiss, storm rumble and whistler-mode chorus.