Disclaimer: The following material is being kept online for archival purposes.
Although accurate at the time of publication, it is no longer being updated. The page may contain broken links or outdated information, and parts may not function in current web browsers.
As with Earth, the Sun also has a dipole field (sometimes!)
The diagram shown here maps out a generic dipole field. It shows the magnetic field lines arching in closed loops at low latitudes, and loops so long as to be assumed infinite (i.e. unclosed) near the poles. It thus distinguishes between open field and closed field regions. The diagram could be used to represent the Sun or the Earth ~
1. IF there were no solar wind, and
2. IF the Sun were always at the minimum of the sunspot cycle.
Above is background material for archival reference only.
