Interplanetary magnetic field

The portion of the Sun’s magnetic field carried outward through interplanetary space by the solar wind. Its direction and strength vary with solar activity and distance from the Sun.

Parker spiral: The spiral pattern of the interplanetary magnetic field created as solar wind carries the Sun’s rotating magnetic field outward. Solar rotation bends the outward-flowing field into this characteristic geometry.
Geomagnetic storm: A major disturbance of Earth’s magnetosphere driven by energy and particles from the solar wind. A southward interplanetary field can couple efficiently to Earth’s magnetic field and intensify storms.
Magnetic field: A physical field that exerts magnetic forces on moving charges, currents, and magnetic materials. The interplanetary field is a magnetic field extending through the solar wind.
Earth's magnetic field: The magnetic field generated mainly by fluid motion in Earth’s outer core. Unlike the interplanetary field, it is generated by Earth and dominates the near-Earth region.
Solar wind: A continuous flow of charged particles released from the Sun’s outer atmosphere. Its outward motion carries the Sun’s magnetic field through interplanetary space.
Magnetic cloud: A type of interplanetary coronal mass ejection with an enhanced, smoothly rotating magnetic field. Its field orientation and strength help determine the disturbance it delivers to Earth.
Plasma: A state of matter composed of charged particles whose collective behavior is influenced by electromagnetic forces. The solar wind is plasma, allowing it to carry and interact with magnetic fields.
Interstellar magnetic field: The magnetic field permeating the space between stars in the Milky Way. It is a galactic-scale field beyond the heliosphere, rather than the Sun-carried field within it.
Heliospheric current sheet: A vast, warped surface separating regions of opposite magnetic polarity in the heliosphere. The tilted solar magnetic field makes its polarity boundary sweep through the Parker spiral.
Coronal mass ejection: A large eruption of magnetized plasma from the Sun’s corona into interplanetary space. Its expanding magnetic structure can strongly perturb the ambient interplanetary field.

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