Auroral ovals in the Planeterrella
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Auroral ovals in the Planeterrella

by David Bernard

The picture shows the Planeterrella experiment, which allows to reproduce plasma configuration in stellar-planet interaction.
On the right side, we can the a little part of the biggest sphere, which act here as the Sun (anode, sending electrons). On the little sphere, which stands for the planet receiving "solar wind", we can see the two northern and southern auroral ovals (at quite low latitude, due to the strengh of the magnet).