Interplanetary magnetic field

High school (ages 12+)
Space & Astronomy

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/interplanetary-magnetic-field

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is the scientific name?Interplanetary Magnetic Field (IMF)
2. What is the origin mechanism?Solar dynamo generating a magnetic field, carried outward by the solar wind
3. How does the Sun create the interplanetary magnetic field?Inside the Sun, hot plasma moves around like a giant dynamo, making a magnetic field that pops out at the surface and is pushed outward by the solar wind.
4. Why does the interplanetary magnetic field look like a spiral?Because the Sun spins while the solar wind flows outward, the magnetic field lines are pulled into a spiral shape called the Archimedean spiral.

Solar Dynamo: The process within the Sun that generates its magnetic field through the motion of plasma.
Solar Wind: A continuous outflow of ionized gas (plasma) from the Sun's corona, carrying magnetic field lines.
Heliosphere: The vast region of space dominated by the Sun's magnetic field and solar wind.
Magnetosphere: The magnetic field surrounding a planet, generated by its internal dynamo or induced by the solar wind.