What If Earth Had Jupiter's Magnetic Field?

 What would happen if Earth had Jupiter's magnetic field?

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The Sun is not the largest object in our solar system. And it's not even Jupiter. But close. This is Jupiter's own magnetic field.

What if Earth's magnetic field were as large as Jupiter?

Earth is surrounded by a magnetosphere made of electrically charged particles influenced by our planet's magnetic field. This is called magnetosphere.

And it plays a hidden but very important role in keeping our planet habitable. Without it, we would be exposed to the sun's radiation.

Apart from this, our environment will also be very good. So thanks in large part to our magnetosphere, which extends 65,000 kilometers (40,000 miles) into space.

Our magnetic field is generated by the dynamo effect at the Earth's core.

This happens when liquid metals in the outer core generate electric currents, and then the rotation of the Earth on its axis causes these currents to act like a magnet.

If this magnetic field is too good for us, let's dial it up and make it thousands of times stronger. Fingers crossed it won't attract a meteor that will level your city in minutes.

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If you could see Jupiter's magnetic field from Earth, what would Jupiter's magnetic field look like? It will appear to be about three times the size of our Moon.

And that's a big deal, considering Jupiter is 778 million kilometers (484 million miles) away from us. As you get closer to this solar system, you'll see that it stretches 3 million kilometers (2 million miles) from Jupiter to the Sun.

And more than 1 billion kilometers (600 million miles) in the other direction, all the way to Saturn.

If the Earth suddenly had such a large magnetic field, it would easily swallow the Moon.

And it will extend to the backside of Mars, the main asteroid belt and the orbit of Jupiter. But there is a catch.

The size of a planet's magnetic field depends on how strong that field is and the strength of the solar wind it encounters.

These solar winds are because Jupiter's magnetic field is more compressed towards the Sun, while the other is more extended. Like Earth, Jupiter's magnetic field is generated by the liquid metals at its core.

The high amount of pressure turns the liquid hydrogen into a metallic form.

Only Jupiter's core is much larger, significantly hotter and spins even faster.

So for Earth to have a strong magnetic field, our core would have to be hotter and faster.

Too much, too hot. And if we somehow rotated the center of our planet faster than Jupiter, our magnetic field would be 18,000 times stronger than it is today.

But does stronger always equal better? Does stronger always equal better? The big problem you'll have with this new, bigger, stronger magnetosphere is that it won't be good enough to shield the planet from the sun's dangerous, charged particles.

This is because it will now behave like a particle accelerator. This will be extra relevant if you plan to travel to space anytime soon.

All because trapped solar particles bombard satellites, the ISS and the Moon with large amounts of radiation.

And nothing could prevent them from passing outside the ship. This will damage all your electronics unless they are stored in a 1.5 cm thick (0.5 inch) titanium vault.

And if you were unlucky enough to be bombarded by these charged particles on a spacewalk, you could get radiation sickness, and your chances of getting cancer increase.

It can also damage your nervous system. So you definitely don't want to find yourself floating in space surrounded by a magnetic field with that much kick.

Down on Earth, the Aurora Borealis, aurora borealis or northern lights, will take on an upgraded form. They are formed when electrically charged particles collide with oxygen and nitrogen atoms.

Now, you will see the display blinking. Oh, and they'd be dangerous too. This is because they will be emitting X-rays. And this radiation can reach right down to the ground.

This can cause our poles to become completely uninhabitable. Now, how does giving Earth a magnetic field 1,300 times that of a planet affect you?

Well, try living with such a rapidly moving core that you're dealing with dramatic increases in earthquake and volcanic activity.

And let's not forget animals like bees, sharks, and even snails that rely on the Earth's magnetosphere to point them in the right direction.

All of these will be released with potentially catastrophic effects on the global ecosystem.

Now, what if the Earth's magnetic field became so small that it disappeared entirely?

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