Space weather

From Freepedia

Space weather is the concept of changing environmental conditions in outer space. It is distinct from the concept of weather within an atmosphere, and generally deals with the interactions of ambient radiation and matter within interplanetary, and occasionally interstellar space. The National Space Weather Program: Strategic Plan defines "space weather" as:

Conditions on the sun and in the solar wind, 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. Adverse conditions in the space envirnoment can cause disruption of satellite operations, communications, navigation, and electric power distribution grids, leading to a variety of socioeconomic losses.

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, and geomagnetically induced currents at Earth's surface.

External links

• NOAA Space Environment Center Space Weather Now
• USGS Geomagnetism Program
• NSWP Strategic Plan
• NSWP Implementation Plan