Space weather
hideSpace weather is the concept of changing environmental conditions in near-Earth space. It is distinct from the concept of weather within a planetary atmosphere, and deals with phenomena involving ambient plasma, magnetic fields, radiation and other matter in space. "Space weather" often implicitly means the conditions in near-Earth space within the magnetosphere, but it is also studied in interplanetary (and occasionally interstellar space).
Within our own solar system, space weather is greatly influenced by the speed and density of the solar wind and the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) carried by the solar wind plasma. A variety of physical phenomena are associated with space weather, including geomagnetic storms and substorms, energization of the Van Allen radiation belts, ionospheric disturbances and scintillation, aurora and geomagnetically induced currents at Earth's surface. Coronal Mass Ejections and their associated shock waves are also important drivers of space weather as they can compress the magnetosphere and trigger geomagnetic storms. Solar Energetic Particles, accelerated by coronal mass ejections or solar flares, are also an important driver of space weather as they can damage electronics onboard spacecraft through induced electric currents,[citation needed] and threaten the life of astronauts.
Space weather exerts a profound influence in several areas related to space exploration and development. Changing geomagnetic conditions can induce changes in atmospheric density causing the rapid degradation of spacecraft altitude in Low Earth orbit. Geomagnetic storms due to increased solar activity can potentially blind sensors aboard spacecraft, or interfere with on-board electronics. An understanding of space environmental conditions is also important in designing shielding and life support systems for manned spacecraft. There is also some concern that geomagnetic storms may also expose conventional aircraft flying at high latitudes to increased amounts of radiation.
For more information about Space weather, read the full article at
Wikipedia.
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News tagged with space weather
Atlantis Launch Countdown Begins Today
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
Nov 13, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- At today's launch countdown status briefing held at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, managers reported space shuttle Atlantis, its payload and crew are ready for launch at 2:28 p.m. ...
A lightning strike in Africa helps take the pulse of the sun
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
Nov 11, 2009 |
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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 ...
FASTSAT instruments shipped for tests and launch preparation
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
Oct 26, 2009 |
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Three of the satellite instruments that will fly on an upcoming satellite mission called "FASTSAT" have been created at one NASA center and have arrived at another for more tests to ensure they are flight ...
New hyperspectral imager launched to International Space Station
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
Sep 10, 2009 |
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Following a fast-paced 16 month design and development process, NRL's Remote Sensing and Space Science Divisions and the Naval Center for Space Technology provide the first-ever high quality and real-time ...
Proba-2 satellite flies into its Russian launch site
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
Sep 07, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Proba-2 has reached Plesetsk Cosmodrome in northern Russia, where it is being prepared for launch this November. Among the smallest satellites ever built by ESA, it was transported there aboard ...
Proba-2's journey to Russia marks its first step towards space
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
Jul 06, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Proba-2, one of the smallest satellites ESA has ever built for space, is about to leave its Belgian homeland. Its development and testing complete, the satellite is being packed up for the ...
New research contributes to defense of Earth's technologies
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
Jun 03, 2009 |
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University of Leicester researchers have taken a step forward in helping to create a defence for earth's technologies -from the constant threat of space weather.
New Solar Cycle Prediction
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
Jun 01, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- An international panel of experts led by NOAA and sponsored by NASA has released a new prediction for the next solar cycle. Solar Cycle 24 will peak, they say, in May 2013 with a below-average ...
New Solar Cycle Prediction: Fewer Sunspots, But Not Necessarily Less Activity
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
May 27, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- An international panel of experts has released a new prediction for the next solar cycle, stating that Solar Cycle 24 will peak in May 2013 with a below-average number of sunspots. Led by ...
Warning: Sunspot cycle beginning to rise
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
May 08, 2009 |
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(AP) -- When the sun sneezes it's Earth that gets sick. It's time for the sun to move into a busier period for sunspots, and while forecasters expect a relatively mild outbreak by historical standards, one ...
STEREO Reveals the Anatomy of a Solar Storm in 3D
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
Apr 28, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Observations from NASA's twin Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory (STEREO) spacecraft have allowed scientists to reveal for the first time the speed, trajectory, and three-dimensional shape of solar explosions ...
The Surprising Shape of Solar Storms (w/Video)
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
Apr 14, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Twin NASA spacecraft have provided scientists with their first view of the speed, trajectory, and three-dimensional shape of powerful explosions from the sun known as coronal mass ejections, ...
Severe Space Weather
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
Jan 22, 2009 |
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Did you know a solar flare can make your toilet stop working?
Researchers and students to develop small CubeSat satellites
Space & Earth / Space Exploration
Oct 01, 2008 |
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A satellite about the size of a loaf of bread will be designed and built at the University of Michigan and deployed to study space weather, thanks to a new grant from the National Science Foundation.
NSF awards grant to track 'space weather' in Earth's near-space environment
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
Jul 21, 2008 |
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Global and real-time "space weather" observations of near-Earth space--and the solar storms that can knock out electric power grids--is about to happen for the first time, thanks to funding from the National ...
