Magnetosheath

 ( Planetary Science ) 

The magnetosheath is the region of space between the magnetopause and the bow shock of a planet magnetosphere. The regularly organized magnetic field generated by the planet becomes weak and irregular in the magnetosheath due to interaction with the incoming solar wind, and is incapable of fully deflecting the highly . The density of the particles in this region is considerably lower than what is found beyond the bow shock, but greater than within the magnetopause, and can be considered a transitory state.Iver Cairns (September 1999). http://www.physics.usyd.edu.au/~cairns/teaching/lecture14/node2.html

/ref> Kinetic plasma instabilities may cause further complexity by generating plasma waves and energetic particle beams in the magnetosheath and foreshock regions.

The Earth's magnetosheath typically occupies the region of space approximately 10 Earth radii on the upwind (Sun-facing) side of the planet, extending significantly further out on the downwind side due to the pressure of the solar wind. The exact location and width of the magnetosheath depends on variables such as Solar variation.Ali H. Sulaiman, Adam Masters, Michele K. Dougherty, and Xianzhe Jia "The Magnetic Structure of Saturn's Magnetosheath" from "JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH, VOL. 119, 5651 - 5661, DOI: 10.1002/2014JA020019" /ref>

• Earth's magnetic field
• Interplanetary magnetic field (IMF)
• Magnetotail
• Van Allen radiation belt
• Plasmasphere
• Ionosphere
• Space weather and heliophysics

• The Encyclopedia of Astrobiology, Astronomy, and Spaceflight
• Institute of Geophysics and Planetary Physics