How do solar storms interact with the Earth's magnetosphere?

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I am trying to develop a model about how solar storms interact with the magnetosphere.


In the picture attached, assuming that the magnets are fixed to their positions, how will the resulting magnetic field look like? Will the field lines of the larger magnet be deflected up and downwards due to the interference of the small magnet?

Are the magnetic storms caused by the sun similar to the effect designed in the apparatus attached?

 

[shyboy]

what you draw here could be in a first approximation decribed as a dipole, tilted with respect to bigger magnet. The picture for the earh magnetic field, influenced by the solar flare, is here: http://www.windows.ucar.edu/sparc/images/mag4.gif

 

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I was thinking of using this apparatus as a model in a school project to determine how the magnetic field of the Earth looks like. I drew a pic of the interacting magnetic fields, can anyone tell me if it is correct or not?


If it is correct, it seems not to have the same shape as the Earth's magnetic field as shown in the previous picture... are the solar particles magnetically changing the shape of the Earth magnetic field?

 

[shyboy]

I thing a flare carries some current so it interacts with the Earth field. but i am no "Solarologist"