Aurora Borealis: Solar Wind Meets Magnetosphere (2D)

A simplified polar-view cross-section of the same real magnetospheric funneling physics as the 3D model: solar-wind particles precipitate onto the atmosphere in a ring around Earth's magnetic pole — the auroral oval — with the ring's width, brightness and equatorward reach genuinely driven by solar-wind speed, particle density and geomagnetic storm intensity (Kp index). Click any point on the map to check whether the aurora would currently be visible at that latitude.