• The Nose: delineated by the (closed) magnetic field lines of the magnetosphere that connect to both southern and northern hemispheres on the day side
  
• The Plasmasphere of low energy plasma in the magnetic field rotating as the Earth rotates
  
• The Van Allen Radiation Belts of trapped high energy particles
• The Ring Current caused by the eastward longitudinal drift of electrons and the westward drift of protons making a westward electrical current.

• The Tail Lobes
  
• The Plasma Sheet within which are:
  
  • The Neutral Sheet: the boundary between the inward magnetic field of the northern tail lobe and the outward magnetic field of the southern tail lobe
    
  • The Current Sheet: the region of the cross-tail current (which goes from the dawn side to the dusk side of the sheet)
    
• The Plasma Mantle: the boundary layer just inside the magnetopause
  

There is no sharp boundary between the ionosphere and the magnetosphere. The mid and low latitude ionosphere is connected to the plasmasphere, whereas the high latitude ionosphere is directly connected to the outer magnetosphere through the polar cusps. The high latitude ionosphere receives a polar rain (actually it's more like a drizzle) of electrons from the solar wind and is also the source of a polar wind of O⁺ ions into the magnetosphere.

"Sounds" of the Magnetosphere

Where are the "noises" coming from? Some prefer to call them Earth Songs.
Samples and live audio stream from the INSRIRE VLF radio receiver at the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama.
Excellent examples of whistlers, hiss, and chorus (as .wav files) recorded by the Polar spacecraft
A menu of ground-based recordings

Historical Outline