Earth's Magnetic Field is exactly the right strength
Stronger Magnetic Field?
- If the magnetic field was much stronger, electromagnetic storms would destroy us.
Weaker Magnetic Field?
- If it was much weaker, the ozone shield could not protect us from solar and stellar radiation.
The Earth's magnetic field is engineered precisely to support life!
"The earth has a magnetic field surrounding it called the 'geomagnetic field'. The geomagnetic field of the earth is very similar to the field of a bar magnetic and has played a major part in navigation over the centuries. By using a compass needle which aligns itself with the magnetic poles of the earth, navigators were able to determine which direction was North and which was South. The magnetic poles of the earth are however not completely aligned with the geographic north and south poles and when navigating this has to be taken into consideration. Also at the present time the north pole of the geomagnetic lies in the southern hemisphere and the south pole of the geomagnetic lies in the northern hemisphere. The poles of the geomagnetic are presently oppositely orientated compared to each hemisphere...
Do you know that some animals such as pigeons or bottle nose dolphins can naturally use the earth's magnetic field to navigate? That is why a pigeon can always find its way home!
As well as helping us with navigation, the earth's geomagnetic field also protects us from the high speed solar wind that comes from the sun. The magnetic field provides an invisible barrier to the charged particles that stream towards us since the magnetic fields are able to reflect the charged particles. Without the magnetic field the earth would not be a nice place to live. When astronauts travel ouside the earth's magnetic field, they need to wear special clothing to keep them safe from the solar wind.
As well as the earth having a magnetic field, the sun also has a magnetic field. The sun's magnetic field is however much more powerful than the earth's and is also very different from the earth's. The sun's magnetic field can be found in strong concentrations called sunspots.
While at most the earth's magnetic field is of size 0.7G, the sun's magnetic field in sunspots can be as much as 3000G! The magnetic field of the sun causes many of the objects that we see in the suns atmosphere." Earth's Magnetic Field