Aurora Borealis: Solar Wind Meets Magnetosphere (3D)

A 3D visualization of real magnetospheric physics: charged solar-wind particles are guided along Earth's dipole magnetic field lines toward the poles, where they collide with atmospheric oxygen and nitrogen to produce the aurora's altitude-banded colors. Tune the solar-wind speed, particle density and geomagnetic storm intensity to watch the magnetopause compress and the auroral oval genuinely expand toward lower latitudes, then click a latitude tick on the globe to check whether the aurora would be visible there.