Solar wind
hideThe solar wind is a stream of charged particles—a plasma—ejected from the upper atmosphere of the sun. It consists mostly of electrons and protons with energies of about 1 keV. The stream of particles varies in temperature and speed with the passage of time. These particles are able to escape the sun's gravity, in part because of the high temperature of the corona, but also because of high kinetic energy that particles gain through a process that is not well-understood.
The solar wind creates the Heliosphere, a vast bubble in the interstellar medium surrounding the solar system. Other phenomena include geomagnetic storms that can knock out power grids on Earth, the aurorae such as the Northern Lights, and the plasma tails of comets that always point away from the sun.
For more information about Solar wind, read the full article at
Wikipedia.
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News tagged with solar wind
The Stars My Destination
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
Nov 10, 2009 |
4.8 / 5 (23) |
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The Voyager spacecraft are now in the outermost layer of the heliosphere, traveling toward interstellar space - the first man-made spacecraft to travel such a vast distance from Earth.
A Tale of Planetary Woe (w/ Video)
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
Nov 11, 2009 |
4.2 / 5 (11) |
5
Once upon a time — roughly four billion years ago — Mars was warm and wet, much like Earth. Liquid water flowed on the Martian surface in long rivers that emptied into shallow seas. A thick atmosphere blanketed ...
NJIT receives funding to improve Big Bear Telescope, study solar energy
Nov 20, 2009 |
4.7 / 5 (6) |
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NJIT researchers are at work on many scientific and technological frontiers. The National Science Foundation has recently provided support that totals nearly $4.3 million for the diverse efforts of the following ...
Solar winds triggered by magnetic fields
Nov 02, 2009 |
4.3 / 5 (4) |
2
(PhysOrg.com) -- Solar wind generated by the sun is probably driven by a process involving powerful magnetic fields, according to a new study led by UCL (University College London) researchers based on the ...
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Planetary Society plans new 'solar sail'
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
Nov 09, 2009 |
4.7 / 5 (14) |
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(AP) -- Four years after its first solar sail ended up in the ocean instead of orbit, The Planetary Society announced Monday that by the end of 2010 it will try again to launch a spacecraft that will be propelled by the ...
Cassini's Big Sky: The View from the Center of Our Solar System
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
Nov 20, 2009 |
4.8 / 5 (15) |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- When NASA's Cassini spacecraft began orbiting Saturn five years ago, a dozen highly-tuned science instruments set to work surveying, sniffing, analyzing and scrutinizing the Saturnian system.
Hidden Territory on Mercury Revealed
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
Nov 04, 2009 |
4.8 / 5 (20) |
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The MESSENGER spacecraft's third flyby of the planet Mercury has given scientists, for the first time, an almost complete view of the planet's surface and revealed some dramatic changes in Mercury's comet-like ...
Tesla Roadster Goes 313 Miles on a Single Charge
Nov 09, 2009 |
4.4 / 5 (14) |
2
(PhysOrg.com) -- Tesla is becoming synonymous with high performance electric cars. Indeed, the Tesla car company has been making efforts to create a brand of sports car that runs on electricity, and does so ...
Harnessing the power of salt, Norway tries osmotic power
Nov 23, 2009 |
4 / 5 (5) |
4
After wind, sun, currents and tides, a company is preparing to make clean electricity by harnessing another natural phenomenon, the energy-unleashing encounter of freshwater and seawater.
Fantastic Voyage
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
Nov 02, 2009 |
4.8 / 5 (19) |
3
By travelling to the outer solar system, the two Voyager spacecraft allowed us to see amazing details of far-distant planets and moons.
Texas A&M prof to predict weather on Mars
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
Nov 04, 2009 |
not rated yet |
0
Is there such a thing as "weather" on Mars? There are some doubts, considering the planet's atmosphere is only 1 percent as dense as that of the Earth. Mars, however, definitely has clouds, drastically low temperatures and ...
Japan aims to bury greenhouse gas emissions
Nov 01, 2009 |
3 / 5 (2) |
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Swathes of dirty clouds brood over a coal plant in rural Japan, but scientists are now hoping to send the pollutants the other way, deep into the bowels of Mother Earth.
NREL Uncovers Clean Energy Leaders State by State
Nov 24, 2009 |
3.4 / 5 (5) |
2
(PhysOrg.com) -- That California and Texas still lead the United States in generating renewable energy probably is no surprise. But, NREL's 2009 State of the States report shows that several smaller states ...
A lightning strike in Africa helps take the pulse of the sun
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
Nov 11, 2009 |
4.5 / 5 (11) |
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Sunspots, which rotate around the sun's surface, tell us a great deal about our own planet. Scientists rely on them, for instance, to measure the sun's rotation or to prepare long-range forecasts of the Earth's ...
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