What Is Space Weather

Solar flares can produce strong x rays that degrade or block high frequency radio waves used for radio communication during events known as radio blackout storms.

What is space weather. Activity on the sun s surface creates a type of weather called space weather. Space weather is a term which has become accepted over the past few years to refer to a collection of physical processes beginning at the sun and ultimately affecting human activities on earth and in space. Tuesday september 15 2020 17 15 utc. The radiation and magnetic fields in space weather swirl around earth in very complex patterns.

However space weather can affect earth and the rest of the solar system. The term space weather generally refers to conditions on the sun in the solar wind and within earth s magnetosphere ionosphere and thermosphere that can influence the performance and reliability of space borne and ground based technological systems and can endanger human life or health. Rather than wind rain thunder and seasonal changes space weather develops differently and produces outcomes unlike terrestrial weather. How do space weather storms affect earth.

The solar minimum between solar cycle 24 and 25 happened in december 2019. Space weather is the physical and phenomenological state of natural space environments. Solar prediction scientists announce solar cycle 25. Space weather is a branch of space physics and aeronomy or heliophysics concerned with the time varying conditions within the solar system including the solar wind emphasizing the space surrounding the earth including conditions in the magnetosphere ionosphere thermosphere and exosphere.

Space weather the name scientists adopted in the late twentieth century to describe changes in space has become a keen area of study for many heliophysicists meteorologists and skywatchers. About space weather impacts different types of space weather can affect different technologies at earth. These balloons are equipped with radiation sensors that detect cosmic rays a surprisingly down to earth form of space weather. Space weather balloon data.

When space weather from the sun reaches earth it runs into our planet s magnetic field and its atmosphere. The space weather prediction center is pleased to announce the operational release of improved geoelectric field maps.