Simulated X-ray emissions from Earth's magnetic field

Image taken from a simulation showing what we would expect to see with the s soft X-ray imager (SXI) instrument on ESA's Smile mission. The simulation used data from a coronal mass ejection that occurred on 17 March 2015.

The image shows expected X-ray emissions from the front of Earth’s magnetic field. The edge of the magnetic field is visible as a bright red bow shape. The two red spots indicate the magnetic holes around Earth's north and south poles, where particles are let in and form the auroras.