What protects the Earth from the Sun’s space weather?

Earth sits within a bubble formed by Earth’s strong magnetic field. This magnetic field is constantly exposed to the wind from the Sun and therefore shaped like a teardrop with a tail pointing away from Earth and Sun. This protective bubble is called the magnetosphere, and is responsible for deflecting most of the high energy particles from Earth.

The Earth's magnetosphere

The Earth's magnetosphere.

NASA/Goddard/Aaron Kaase

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