Space weather
Space Weather
Space weather (/speɪs ˈwɛðər/) refers to the environmental conditions in space that are influenced by the sun and can affect Earth and its technological systems.
Etymology
The term "space weather" was first used in the 1950s, during the beginning of space exploration. It is derived from the English words "space", referring to the expanse that exists beyond the Earth and between celestial bodies, and "weather", referring to the state of the atmosphere at a place and time as regards heat, dryness, sunshine, wind, rain, etc.
Related Terms
- Solar Flare: A brief eruption of intense high-energy radiation from the sun's surface, associated with sunspots and causing electromagnetic disturbances on the earth, as with radio frequency communications and power line transmissions.
- Geomagnetic Storm: A temporary disturbance of the Earth's magnetosphere caused by a solar wind shock wave and/or cloud of magnetic field that interacts with the Earth's magnetic field.
- Solar Wind: The continuous flow of charged particles from the sun that permeates the solar system.
- Magnetosphere: The region surrounding the earth or another astronomical body in which its magnetic field is the predominant effective magnetic field.
- Coronal Mass Ejection (CME): A significant release of plasma and accompanying magnetic field from the solar corona. They often follow solar flares and are normally present during a solar prominence eruption.
- Radiation Belt: A zone of energetic charged particles, most of which originate from the solar wind, that are captured by and held around a planet by that planet's magnetic field.
- Aurora: A natural light display in the Earth's sky, predominantly seen in the high-latitude regions (around the Arctic and Antarctic).
- Ionosphere: The ionized part of Earth's upper atmosphere, from about 60 km to 1,000 km altitude, a region that includes the thermosphere and parts of the mesosphere and exosphere.
See Also
External links
- Medical encyclopedia article on Space weather
- Wikipedia's article - Space weather
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