What Protects the Earth from Deadly Solar Radiation?

The sun is vital to the survival of living organisms on planet Earth. However at full force, its rays are deadly. So what protects the planet from the harmful radiation that’s emitted from the largest object in the solar system? According to scientists, the earth’s magnetic field offers omnipresent protection against the rays that could make life all but impossible.

Also known as the Earth’s geomagnetic field, the force expands from the interior of the planet right up to the point where it collides with solar wind. Radiating from the Sun, this stream of charged particles is made up of electrons, protons and alpha particles. If they were to reach Earth, they could wreak radioactive havoc.

Geomagnetic armour

Thankfully, the rotation of the Earth’s molten outer core creates a geomagnetic field that actively repels these harmful rays. Magnitude ranges from 25 to 65 microteslas, with escaping heat creating cycling convection currents that generate a powerful magnetic barrier. Research into the phenomenom is complex, with scientists continually exploring new theories.

The magnitude of the moon

Now, a recent study published in the journal Earth and Planetary Science Letters is claiming that without the Moon, the world's magnetic field would not exist. Led by Université Blaise Pascal’s Denis Andrault, the research team claims that the Moon ‘stirs’ the contents of the Earth’s liquid outer core, creating a tidal mechanism that mechanically stimulates efficient convection. Ultimately, this facilitates the Earth’s magnetic field and protects the planet from deadly solar wind.

“In this scenario... the habitability on Earth appears to require the existence of a large satellite,” writes Andrault. “We found out that this possible effect of the Moon had already been proposed about 50 years ago,” Andrault told IFLScience. “However, no one since then had argued that this effect could be important.”

The ‘wrong’ kind of moon

Using the same concept, the scientists also suggest that the ‘wrong’ kind of moon could explain why Mars isn’t protected by a magnetic field. And in the process, clarify why the Red Planet has failed to support the existence of complex life.

Radiation can be deadly, yet it’s also a constant source of fascination here on planet Earth. ‘Estimation of Stray Light using Starna Certified Reference Materials (CRMs)’ explores the radiant energy experiments currently underway, spotlighting a range of liquid cut-off filters that allow the Stray Light of ultraviolet spectrometers to be checked at a range of wavelengths from 200 nm to 390 nm.