Earth's Magnetic Field Diagram – Poles and Magnetosphere

All 15 parts on the diagram

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The Earth as a magnet 10

Geographic North Pole The top end of the line Earth spins around.
Geographic South Pole The bottom end of the line Earth spins around.
Rotation axis The line Earth spins around, through both geographic poles.
North magnetic pole Here the field lines point straight down into Earth.
South magnetic pole Here the field lines come straight up out of Earth.
Magnetic axis The line through both magnetic poles. It leans away from the rotation axis.
Magnetic field lines Invisible lines that loop from one magnetic pole to the other.
Outer core A layer of moving molten iron. The magnetic field is made here.
Compass needle A small magnet that lines up with the field lines.
Aurora Glowing lights in the sky in an oval around each magnetic pole.

The field in space 5

Solar wind A constant flow of charged particles from the Sun.
Magnetosphere The region around Earth where its magnetic field is in charge.
Magnetopause The boundary between the solar wind and Earth's magnetic field.
Magnetotail The long tail of the field on Earth's night side.
Radiation belts (Van Allen belts) Two doughnut-shaped zones of trapped particles around Earth.

How this list was compiled: Every name checked on 2026-10-01 in two independent sources (USGS, NASA and NOAA are counted as three agencies; Wikipedia as a fourth). (1) US Geological Survey, How does the Earth's core generate a magnetic field?, https://www.usgs.gov/faqs/how-does-earths-core-generate-magnetic-field (convection of iron in the outer core). (2) US Geological Survey, What is declination?, https://www.usgs.gov/faqs/what-declination (the compass, geographic north, the rotational axis, the geomagnetic poles). (3) NASA Science, Earth's Magnetosphere: Protecting Our Planet from Harmful Space Energy, https://science.nasa.gov/science-research/earth-science/earths-magnetosphere-protecting-our-planet-from-harmful-space-energy/ (outer core, north and south magnetic poles, field lines in closed loops, solar wind, Van Allen belts, aurora, the compass). (4) NASA Science, Magnetospheres, https://science.nasa.gov/heliophysics/focus-areas/magnetosphere-ionosphere/ (magnetosphere, solar wind, magnetotail). (5) NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center, Earth's magnetosphere, https://www.swpc.noaa.gov/phenomena/earths-magnetosphere (magnetic axis and spin axis, solar wind, magnetopause, the long tail, radiation belts). (6) NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Wandering of the Geomagnetic Poles, https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/products/wandering-geomagnetic-poles (magnetic poles where the field is vertical, the dipole axis and the rotation axis, auroral ovals around the geomagnetic poles). (7) Wikipedia, Earth's magnetic field, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earth%27s_magnetic_field. (8) Wikipedia, Magnetosphere, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnetosphere. Licence: own work

The drawing: Drawn for this site on 2026-10-01 from plain geometry (the loops are computed dipole field lines). Own original drawing; nothing is traced or copied. Licence: own work

How it works

This Earth's magnetic field diagram has two scenes. The upper one shows the planet as a magnet; the lower one, not to scale, shows what the solar wind does to the field in space.

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The Earth as a magnet

Moving molten iron in the outer core makes the field. Its lines loop out of the ground at the south magnetic pole and back in at the north magnetic pole. The magnetic axis leans away from the rotation axis, so the magnetic poles are not at the geographic poles.

The field in space

The solar wind presses the field in on the side facing the Sun and stretches it into a long magnetotail on the other. The region inside is the magnetosphere and its edge is the magnetopause. Close to Earth, trapped particles fill two radiation belts.

Questions and answers

Where does Earth's magnetic field come from?

From the outer core. NASA and the US Geological Survey describe molten iron moving there by convection, which drives electric currents, and those currents make the magnetic field.

What is the difference between the geographic and the magnetic poles?

The geographic poles are where the rotation axis meets the surface. The magnetic poles are where the field is vertical. They are near each other but not in the same place, and the magnetic poles move.

Why does a compass not point exactly north?

A compass needle lines up with the magnetic field, not with the rotation axis. The angle between its direction and geographic north is called declination, and it changes with place and time.

How do I label a diagram of Earth's magnetic field?

Start with the two axes and the four poles, then the field lines and the outer core. In space, label the solar wind, the magnetosphere, its edge the magnetopause, the magnetotail and the radiation belts.