Seminar

Our Earth is protected from the incessant bombardment of the Sun’s extended outflowing atmosphere (the solar wind) by the Earth’s magnetic field, forming a magnetic shield. Inside the magnetic shield is an enclosure in which the magnetic field governs to a large extent the dynamics of the charged particles trapped within the bubble. This seminar will cover briefly the solar activity in terms of its 11-yr cycle, the occasional outbursts of hot solar atmosphere (coronal mass ejections), the deformation of Earth’s magnetic field into a magnetic bubble, the radiation environment formed within the magnetic bubble, and the quest to solve the half-century old mystery of what physical process causes the dynamic auroral displays on Earth.