Overview
The magnetosphere around a planet is the area of space where charged particles are controlled by its magnetic field. In the Solar System, Jupiter and Earth have the strongest magnetospheres because of the strength of well-developed magnetic fields. Close to the surface of a planet, the lines of force of the magnetic field look like a dipole, but further away, lines of force are warped by electric currents from plasma in the solar wind.
The Solar Wind
Solar wind particles escape from the upper atmosphere of the Sun in a stream of plasma. Electrons, protons, and alpha particles with high energy flow outward constantly to a distance far beyond the orbit of Pluto. The electrical currents caused by these particles are strong enough to strip the atmosphere away from a planet unless it is protected by its own magnetic field. Solar wind particles have been found in many different locations in the Solar System, wherever cosmic rays strike.
Magnetosphere
The planets Mercury, Earth, Jupiter, Uranus, and Neptune all have strong enough magnetospheres to protect them against the destructive effects of the solar wind. Their magnetic fields are generated by the materials in the core of the planet and the speed of rotation. When an object rotates rapidly enough, as well as creating convection currents between its core and the surface of the planet, it generates its own magnetic field. By contrast, the planet Venus rotates too slowly to generate its own magnetic field. The solar wind wraps completely around the planet, and its electric currents have allowed most of the free hydrogen to escape from the Venusian atmosphere, leaving behind heavy carbon dioxide and other compounds.
Magnetosphere of Earth
The magnetosphere doesn’t have a spherical shape around Planet Earth. It extends from about 10 times the radius of the Earth on the sunward side to a tail in the shape of a parabola 200 times the radius of the Earth on the opposite side. It protects from the solar wind and cosmic rays. The magnetosphere expands and contracts in response to solar activity.
Magnetosphere of Jupiter
The magnetosphere of Jupiter is larger and stronger than that of Earth. It extends from 7 million km sunward and almost to the orbit of Saturn for its parabolic tail. Jupiter’s magnetic field is generated by powerful electric currents created in its liquid core. Volcanic eruptions of sulfur from its moon Io intensify thick radiation belts around the planetary system. The planet Jupiter is a very bright source of radio transmissions.
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