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<p>It is argued that a simple model based on magnetic image arguments suffices to give a convincing insight into both the basic static as well as some transient dynamic properties of the near-Earth's magnetosphere, particularly accounting for damped oscillations being excited in response to impulsive perturbations. The parameter variations of the frequency are given. Qualitative results can also be obtained for heating due to the compression of the radiation belts. The properties of this simple dynamic model for the solar wind–magnetosphere interaction are discussed and compared to observations. In spite of its simplicity, the model gives convincing results concerning the magnitudes of the near-Earth's magnetic and electric fields. The database contains ground-based results for magnetic field variation in response to shocks in the solar wind. Here, the observations also include data from the two Van Allen satellites.</p>