Does the Suns magnetic field affect compasses on Earth?
Hello! The Sun’s magnetic field does indeed affect compasses on Earth. It was one of humanity’s first clues that there is a vast space environment out there. However, the process is a little complicated. The “Live from the Sun” broadcast mentioned the “solar wind.” The solar wind is the expanded atmosphere of the Sun. It extends all the way to Earth. The solar wind has a great deal of magnetic field in it. When it reaches the Earth, it interacts with the Earth’s magnetic field, and we can even measure it here on the ground! There are lots of observatories on Earth dedicated to measuring the fluctuations in the magnetic field. When a major solar magnetic storm hits Earth, the magnetic fields, measured by magnetometers, can go wild! We still find these observations very worthwhile.
