Our Tangled Magnetic Shield

Spaghetti dinner gone sour? Some sort of fancy new knitting technique? No, this is a computer simulation of the complex and crazy magnetic fields that make up Earths magnetosphere. The magnetosphere is the result of the interaction of charged particles from the sun and the magnetic field that surrounds the planet. When solar storms send particles flowing toward Earth, the result can be stunning space weather the kind that creates beautiful auroras but also can disrupt satellites, telecommunications and electrical power grids. Researchers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee are trying to understand how these storms work in order to better predict how storms on the sun will influence life on our planet.