plasmasphere

[ plaz-muh-sfeer ]

noun

, Astronomy.

1. a region of cool plasma surrounding the earth, extending 8000–25,000 miles (13,000–40,000 km) into space, and bounded by the plasmapause.

Word History and Origins

Origin of plasmasphere¹

First recorded in 1965–70; plasma + -sphere

Example Sentences

As the plume rises from the ionosphere, it extends the boundary of its plasmasphere origin toward the magnetopause.

From Science Magazine

He never figured out exactly what caused these “whistlers,” but a series of scientific discoveries demonstrated that the sounds had to do with lightning traveling through the plasmasphere — or ionized gas cloud — that floats in space far above the Earth’s surface.

From Washington Post

That’s because it’s in large part shielded from high-energy particles by the plasmasphere, which is a cloud of plasma that is part of the Earth’s magnetosphere.

From Forbes

Based on observational data of solar storms, the radiation belts, and the plasmasphere during past years, the authors were able to successfully model the Halloween solar storm.

From Forbes

When the Carrington storm was modeled, the results showed that the plasmasphere was eroded to the point that much more radiation reached the inner belt than is normally the case.

From Forbes