Space weather concerns various environmental conditions that occur in outer space. But, does it affect us on the Earth?
Yes, space weather affects us here on the surface of the Earth. According to the National Academy of Science, “Space weather describes the conditions in space that affect Earth and its technological systems. Our space weather is a consequence of the behavior of the sun, the nature of Earth’s magnetic field, and our location in the solar system.” [As found on http://www7.nationalacademies.org/ssb/SSB_Space_weather97.pdf.]
Space weather deals with weather within planetary atmospheres such as on the planets Mars and Saturn, but also involves radiation and matter within interplanetary space (existing between planets) and sometimes from interstellar space (existing between stars).
In the vicinity of the Earth’s solar system, space weather involves mostly the density and speed of the solar wind (charged particles, plasma, that are ejected from the Sun’ upper atmosphere) and the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) (the Sun’s magnetic field that is carried by the solar wind throughout the solar system).
The Earth also has to contend with geomagnetic storms (temporary disturbances to the Earth’s magnetosphere), energy from the Van Allen radiation belts (strips of charged particles, plasma, that circles the Earth and are held in place by the Earth’s magnetic field), and disturbances of the Earth’s ionosphere (part of the atmosphere ionized by solar radiation). We also are affected by auroras (bright glow in the night sky; the aurora borealis in the northern sky and the aurora australis in the southern sky), coronal mass ejections (ejection of solar material from the Sun’s corona) and solar flares (violent explosions within the Sun’s atmosphere), and other space effects that can disrupt weather on and above the Earth.
Solar flares often disrupt electronics on communications spacecraft and other probes circling the Earth and further out in outer space and on electronics here on the surface of the Earth. Such disturbances from the Sun can also harm astronauts in space. These flares from the Sun consist of electrons, protons, and heavier ions (charged particles) that travel near the speed of light. Geomagnetic storms can also damage electronics onboard aircraft flying at high latitudes and cause potential harm passengers on such flight with increased dosages of radiation.
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