Explore Earth's magnetosphere as a teaching schematic: dipole field lines tilted ~11 deg, sunward magnetopause compressed to ~6-10 Earth radii by the solar wind, and surface field ~25-65 uT.
Published figures: surface field ~25-65 uT, dipole tilt ~11 deg, sunward magnetopause typically ~6-10 Re under solar-wind pressure (NASA magnetosphere overview).
Drag to orbit and scroll or pinch to zoom. Use Quiet / Compressed presets or the magnetopause slider; toggle solar-wind particles.
Earth Magnetosphere 3D Explorer
Earth's magnetosphere is a teaching schematic here - dipole field lines, a compressed sunward magnetopause, and optional solar-wind particles - not an MHD model.
Surface field intensity is about 25-65 uT. The magnetic dipole tilts about 11 deg from Earth's spin axis. Solar wind compresses the sunward magnetopause to roughly 6-10 Earth radii (Re) - Quiet about 10 Re and Compressed about 6 Re presets match that published range.
Adjust tilt and magnetopause standoff, or hide the solar-wind particle stream. The facts panel lists the same figures.
- Dipole field-line cage with adjustable about 11 deg tilt
- Orange magnetopause wire shell at 6-12 Re (teaching standoff)
- Quiet about 10 Re and Compressed about 6 Re presets
- Optional solar-wind particles from the Sunward side
- Surface field about 25-65 uT in the facts table
- Complements aurora (emission curtains) and solar-wind-heliosphere (AU-scale bubble)
- Runs fully in the browser with the vendored three.js engine - no account, no upload
Students see why the day side is squashed; teachers demo magnetopause standoff without a blackboard sketch; curious readers connect field tilt to the aurora oval's magnetic frame.
| Figure | Value | Source note |
|---|---|---|
| Surface field | about 25-65 uT | Published surface intensity range |
| Dipole tilt | about 11 deg | Magnetic vs rotation axis |
| Magnetopause (sunward) | about 6-10 Re | Solar-wind compression (NASA overview) |
Which Space 3D explorer covers which scale
This explorer owns the near-Earth field and boundary: dipole tilt about 11 deg and a sunward magnetopause about 6-10 Re. Two siblings cover the scales it deliberately leaves out - Aurora 3D for what the precipitating particles look like at 80-300 km, and Solar Wind Heliosphere 3D for the AU-scale bubble the solar wind carves.
| Explorer | What it teaches | Trade-off |
|---|---|---|
| Earth Magnetosphere 3D (this page) | Dipole tilt about 11 deg, magnetopause about 6-10 Re, surface field about 25-65 uT | Schematic boundary, not an MHD model |
| Aurora 3D | Auroral oval widening across teaching Kp 0-9, with green emission about 90-150 km and red about 200-300 km | Curtains and emission altitudes, not the magnetopause shell |
| Solar Wind Heliosphere 3D | Termination shock about 94 AU and heliopause about 121 AU | Solar-system scale in AU, not Earth radii |
The dipole field-line cage, magnetopause shell, and optional solar-wind stream all draw on your device with WebGL. The three.js engine downloads once (about 0.7 MB) and then stays cached, so every tilt and magnetopause standoff you adjust is recomputed locally - none of the magnetosphere scene is uploaded or sent to a server.
This is an educational dipole + boundary schematic - not an MHD magnetosphere model, not a live solar-wind or IMF feed, and not a Van Allen belt particle solver.
When you need session fit and limits, see when to use Earth Magnetosphere 3D Explorer. The Space 3D collection also includes Aurora 3D and Solar Wind Heliosphere 3D.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does the Earth Magnetosphere 3D Explorer show?
A teaching schematic of Earth's dipole field lines, ~11 deg tilt, sunward magnetopause at ~6-10 Re, and surface field ~25-65 uT with optional solar-wind particles.
How far is the magnetopause on the day side?
Typically about 6-10 Earth radii sunward under solar-wind pressure. Quiet ~10 Re and Compressed ~6 Re presets span that published range.
What is the dipole tilt?
About 11 degrees between Earth's magnetic axis and its rotation axis - the tilt slider defaults near that published value.
How strong is Earth's surface magnetic field?
About 25-65 microtesla across the surface - listed in the facts panel as the published intensity range.
Is this an MHD magnetosphere model?
No. It is an educational dipole and boundary schematic - not an MHD solver or a live space-weather forecast.
How is this different from Aurora 3D?
Aurora 3D teaches emission curtains and Kp oval size. This page teaches the large-scale field and magnetopause boundary that frames those ovals.