Earth's Magnetic field
Earth's magnetic field, also known as the geomagnetic field.
It is a shield of invisible force that protects our planet from harmful radiation and charged particles emanating from the sun and beyond.
It's like a giant invisible bubble around Earth.
The Earth's magnetic field is primarily generated by a dynamo effect created by the movement of molten iron and nickel in the Earth's outer core.
This molten metal acts like a giant electric current, which in turn creates a magnetic field.
The Earth's rotation is what keeps this molten metal churning and the dynamo effect going.
The Earth's magnetic field plays a crucial role in safeguarding life on Earth.
Deflects charged particles: The magnetic field deflects most of the charged particles from the sun's solar wind and cosmic rays.
Which would otherwise strip away the atmosphere and bombard living organisms with harmful radiation.
Protects satellites: The magnetosphere, the region influenced by Earth's magnetic field, also shields satellites from electrical damage caused by charged particles.
Maintains the Aurora Borealis and Australis: The beautiful auroras (Northern Lights and Southern Lights) are a result of charged particles interacting with Earth's atmosphere along the magnetic field lines.
Recent evidence of rocks
Geologists at MIT and Oxford University have found ancient rocks in Greenland that bear the oldest remnants of the earth’s early magnetic field.
The researchers determined that the rocks are about 3.7 billion years old and retain signatures of a magnetic field with a strength of at least 15 microtesla.
The ancient field is similar in magnitude to the earth’s magnetic field today.
The results of the study published in the Journal of Geophysical Research, represent some of the earliest evidence of a magnetic field surrounding the earth.
Previous studies have shown evidence for a magnetic field on the earth that is at least 3.5 billion years old.
The new study is extending the magnetic field’s lifetime by another 200 million years.
If the earth’s magnetic field was around a few hundred million years earlier.
It could have played a critical role in making the planet habitable,” Benjamin Weiss from the Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences at MIT and one of the authors told MIT News.
Greenland location
Why in news
Geologists at MIT and Oxford University have found ancient rocks in Greenland that bear the oldest remnants of the earth’s early magnetic field.
The researchers determined that the rocks are about 3.7 billion years old and retain signatures of a magnetic field with a strength of at least 15 microtesla.
The ancient field is similar in magnitude to the earth’s magnetic field today.
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