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A rogue object so strange, scientists aren’t sure what to call it. (mander.xyz)

submitted 5 days ago by fossilesque@mander.xyz to c/science_memes@mander.xyz

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[-] deranger@sh.itjust.works 36 points 4 days ago

Both the magnetic field strength and charged particle flux fall off proportional to the square of the distance from the planet / star respectively, so I doubt it gets much of anything even with a strong magnetic field unless it’s also near a star.

I’d also point out that the particles aren’t really attracted by the earths magnetic field, we’re just in the pathway, and the magnetic field funnels them to the poles. It’s more guidance than attraction.

[-] Gust@piefed.social -2 points 4 days ago

I dont think you're quite understanding how big 6 orders of magnitude is. 4000000/r2 still falls off way slower than 1/r2.

Also the funnel diagram of the earth's magnetic field you're referring to is a near field effect. In the far field regime the only field components that stay strong enough to be relevant are those parallel to the axis of the dipole; a dipole is functionally identical to a bar magnet if you're measuring it from far enough away. If my understanding of solar wind is correct and the aurora refers to an interaction that occurs between the earth's magnetic field and particles near the sun, we're definitely in the far field regime

[-] deranger@sh.itjust.works 7 points 4 days ago

I don’t think you’re quite understanding the distances involved in what I’m getting at. The particle flux is minuscule, and it’s not the magnetic field that’s attracting particles. It’s only guiding the particles that were already headed towards the planet.

This planet would have great aurorae if it were near a star, but it’s not, so the magnetic field strength is kind of a moot point.