Drawing of Earth's magnetosphere. Notice that the magnetic field is much larger than the planet!
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Windows Original Image
The Earth as a Magnet
The Earth has a magnetic field with north and south poles.
The magnetic field of the Earth is surrounded by the magnetosphere. The magnetosphere keeps most of
the particles from the sun, carried in solar wind, from hitting the Earth.
Some particles from the solar wind can enters the magnetosphere. These particles create the auroral light shows.
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