magnetopause Archives

Contributions to the peak 𝑃𝑅 from the bow shock and magnetopause at 𝜂 = 5.38018 × 108cm2s−1 for Case #1 (panel a), Case #2 (top of panel b), and Case #3 (bottom of panel b). The volumetric renderings show ∇ · Stotal in erg cm−3 s−1. -- astro-ph.EP

Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Magnetic Fields, Electromagnetism, bioelectricity,, Press Release, Space Weather & Heliophysics, TRAPPIST-1

Resistive MHD Simulations of Stellar Wind-Magnetosphere Coupling in TRAPPIST-1e

by Keith CowingApril 2, 2026April 2, 2026

Close-in terrestrial exoplanets around M dwarfs reside in dense, magnetized winds, where non-ideal plasma coupling can strongly affect how electromagnetic energy is redistributed within the dayside interaction region.

Sketch of the magnetospheric interaction in the starplanet system Proxima - Proxima b. The stellar wind velocity and the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) streamlines (assumed to be radial–see text in Sect. 3) are drawn in green and red, respectively. Note that there are magnetic field lines from the star (yellow circle) that are connected to the exoplanet Proxima b (purple circle). The density distribution is shown as a color scale, normalized to the value of the stellar wind density, ρsw = µmpnsw (see Table 1). The sketch represents a super-Alfvénic case, where the ram pressure of the wind dominates over the stellar wind magnetic field pressure, so a bow shock is formed at the dayside of the planet. The Proxima star is beyond the limits of our simulation domain. -- astro-ph.EP

Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biophysics, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Habitable Zones, Magnetic Fields, Electromagnetism, bioelectricity,, Proxima Centauri, Radiation, Space Weather & Heliophysics, Status Report

MHD Simulations of the Space Weather in Proxima b: Habitability Conditions and Radio Emission

by Keith CowingMay 30, 2024May 30, 2024

The habitability of exoplanets hosted by M-dwarf stars dramatically depends on their space weather. We present 3D magneto-hydrodynamic simulations to characterise the magneto-plasma environment and thus the habitability of the […]