Satgen 619  A Magnetosphere Tail  by GM4IHJ  (BID SGEN619) 2001-02-03

It has long been known that the Earth has a magnetic field. Best
described as strongly bipolar, with the magnetic poles located near
but not exactly on the rotation poles. This bipolar field being
augmented by at least 3 smaller field components . Such that the
whole system can be described as having an octopolar structure.

We are able to live here on Earth, so long as this field exists.
Remove it for more than a few thousand years, and galactic cosmic
radiation , together with the solar wind, would probably conspire to
make the earth uninhabitable.

The region covered by the magnetic field extends out from the Earth,
to at least 40,000kms, for most of the time. But strong bursts of the
Solar Wind, can push the field inwards towards the earth. Temporarily
placing geostationary satellites on the Sunward side of the earth,
outside the protection of the magnetic field. Thereby making them
liable to serious damage and in some cases, total failure.

Up to now the fleet of satellites we have put up , to monitor the
magnetic field and the solar wind ( SOHO, TRACE, POLAR, ACE, CLUSTER,
GEOTAIL and WIND ), have given us only individual location, spot
reports. We have not been able to see the big picture.

Now,the NASA "Imager for Magnetopause and Auroral Global Exploration
", IMAGE spacecraft, is providing a global view of the patterns of
charged particles in and around the Magnetosphere, and the results
are very interesting. Confirming several theories, such as the
suggestion that the combination of the solar wind and the
magnetosphere would at times produce an intense plasma tail heading
back towards the Sun.

Indeed IMAGE is now clearly showing that as the solar wind hits the
sunward edge of the magnetosphere and presses it down towards the
Earth. The ionised particles getting around the earth and into the
night side, form a plasma tail which extends far beyond the earth
going well beyond the orbit of the Moon. Producing an interesting
situation for any would be Moon dwellers. But this plasma tail
is not always stable. It can as IMAGE clearly shows , whip back
towards the Earth at very high speed. Whirling back around the Earth
, heating the plasma up to several hundred million degrees. Producing
the multi million amp currents in the Earths Ionosphere, which cause
immense damage to sub arctic commercial electric power supply
equipment.

Some of this knowledge had been hinted at in the past. Now IMAGE is
confirming it . But as so often happens it is adding new questions.
Strangest of which are the discovery that the hot storm plasma can at
times be densest on the daylight side of the Earth, while, some of
the plasma cloud patterns seen by IMAGE show evidence of totally
unexpected large voids and troughs, almost completely empty of
plasma. Clearly we have a lot to learn about what goes on in near
earth space.