Karman Lines

3. Karman Lines The karman line is the boundary line between the Earth's atmosphere and outer space. Located at an altitude of 100 km above Earth's sea level. Figure 14. Karman Line (Source: cafekepo.com) This is important from a legal and regulatory aspect, as aircraft and spacecraft fall under different jurisdictions. One of them is the Federation Aeronautique Internationale (FAI) which defines the Karman line as being at an altitude of 100 km above Earth's sea level. This line comes from the name of Theodore von Karman (1881-1963), a Hungarian-American engineer and physicist. 4. Interaction between the Sun and the Earth's Atmosphere. The sun is a dwarf star at the center of the solar system. The sun is a glowing ball of ionized gas powered by hydrogen fusion in its core. Figure 15. Solar activity (Source : ) Solar activity and interactions with the Earth's magnetic field will greatly influence the dynamics and characteristics of the Earth's atmosphere. Solar energy flowing through the biosphere it will warm the atmosphere, evaporate and recycle water, generate wind and support plant growth. Figure 16. Solar Wind (Source: vectorstock.com) The electric current from the sun will form a magnetic field which will be spread throughout the solar system using Solar Wind. Solar Wind is a flow of electrically charged gas that comes out of the Sun and moves in all directions and affects the Earth's magnetic field, magnetosphere and ionosphere. Solar Wind contains approximately the same number of protons and electricity and radiates directly from the surface of the Sun. The Solar Wind causes a loss of the Sun's mass of around 10 million tons of material per year (relatively insignificant when compared to the total mass of the Sun). Solar wind cannot penetrate Earth's magnetic field easily on the side facing the Sun because this wind consists of charged particles. When Solar Wind encounters the Earth's magnetic field, the Solar Wind will be deflected by the Earth's magnetic field so that it does not hit the Earth. The part of the Earth's atmosphere that is behind the bow shock with the Solar Wind and surrounds the Earth is called the Magnetosphere, which functions to prevent the entry of the Solar Wind from hitting the Earth. 5. Magnetosphere The magnetosphere is the layer around the planet that is dominated by the planet's magnetic field. Planets other than Earth also have magnetospheres, but Earth's magnetosphere is the strongest compared to other rocky planets. The Earth's magnetosphere is the Earth's shield against particles from the Sun that can harm the lives of living things on Earth. Figure 16. Magnetosphere Particles coming towards Earth are blocked by the magnetosphere so they are trapped in this field. The areas where these particles are confined are called Van Allen Belts. The magnetosphere also affects spacecraft because it is influenced by space weather. The Earth's magnetosphere is shaped like comet-shaped bubbles.