The schematic diagram of Earth’s magnetosphere shown consists of different regions:
Bow shock : It occurs when the Earth’s magnetosphere interacts with the nearby flowing Plasma.
Magnetosheath:Region of space between the magnetopause and the bow shock.
Magnetopause : It is the boundary between the planet’s magnetic field and the solar wind.
Northern tail lobe : Earth’s magnetosphere lobe on the northern side. Magnetic field lines of the lobe point towards the earth.
Southern tail lobe: Earth’s magnetosphere lobe on the southern side.
Plasmasphere: Earth’s magnetosphere consisting of low energy (cool) plasma.
Solar winds: Stream of charged particles released from the upper atmosphere of the Sun (corona).
Significance of Study of Plasma Processes:
The plasma processes may hamper the working of satellites that are in the magnetospheric region.
The changes in plasma processes can be deciphered only through computer simulations.
The study will help advance the knowledge of plasma waves, instabilities and effects associated with wave-particle interactions.
Indian Institute of Geomagnetism
It conducts basic and applied research in Geomagnetism (study of dynamics of earth’s magnetic field) and allied fields.
The Institute also supports a World Data Centre for Geomagnetism (WDC, Mumbai), which is the only Internationalcentre for Geomagnetic data in South Asia.