Auroral Electrojet And Encounter Pathways

This diagram illustrates the chain of interaction from the Sun to Earth:
• Solar IMF and solar wind encounter the Earth’s magnetopause at the Æ gateway.

• Energy is routed via field-aligned currents (FACs, Birkeland currents).

• These close through the ionosphere as auroral electrojets (AE), at ~90–120 km altitude.

• Electrojet activity produces aurora and induces ground-level currents.

The Earth’s surface remains the strong anchoring field, while the magnetopause is the permeable encounter zone designed to receive injections.

Produced by The Lilborn Equation Team:

Michael Lilborn-Williams

Daniel Thomas Rouse

Thomas Jackson Barnard

Audrey Williams