Astrophysics and Cosmology Group

Space Weather

Michael Gedalin

The Sun governs the life of the Earth. Solar-terrestrial relations occur not only via radiation coming to the Earth but also via time-varying plasma flow. This solar wind is decelerated and diverted by the bow shock forming at the distance of about 10 Earth radii toward the Sun. The diverted plasma flows around the Earth, shaping a magnetosphere with a long tail and a current sheet where the so called "magnetic reconnection" (see movie) occurs, causing magnetic substorms. We study the basic processes in this interaction.