SCIENTISTS SAY : SOLAR WIND

the words “solar wind” might make you picture a light breeze. But the solar wind is a torrent of
energetic charged particles streaming out from the sun in all directions. This plasma contains mostly
protons and electrons. There are also some atomic nuclei in the mix. These particles come from the
sun’s corona. That’s the outermost layer of the sun’s atmosphere. The corona is so hot that gas particles
can gain enough energy to escape the sun’s gravity. As these solar wind particles sweep out into space,
they can drag magnetic fields from the sun with them.

The solar wind whips off the sun at two different speeds. Some of the wind flows out at about 800
kilometers (500 miles) per second. That material spews out of funnel-shaped openings in the sun’s
magnetic field, called coronal holes, near the sun’s poles. Slower wind rolls off the sun at about 400
kilometers (250 miles) per second. Observations from the Parker Solar Probe hint that this flow comes
from small coronal holes near the sun’s equator.
The solar wind washes over Earth at hundreds of kilometers per second. Most of this rush of plasma is
deflected by Earth’s magnetic field. This creates a pattern in the solar wind flow like water rushing
around a rock in a stream. But the solar wind plays an important role in space weather that affects
Earth. Especially strong gusts of solar wind can wreak havoc on satellites, power grids and other
technology. The solar wind isn’t just a nuisance, though. Solar wind particles light up Earth’s skies with
auroras. They set auroras aglow on other planets, too.
atmosphere: The envelope of gases surrounding Earth, another planet or a moon.

atomic: Having to do with atoms, the smallest possible unit that makes up a chemical element.

aurora: A light display in the sky caused when incoming energetic particles from the sun collide with gas
molecules in a planet’s upper atmosphere. The best known of these is Earth’s aurora borealis, or
northern lights. On some outer gas planets, like Jupiter and Saturn, the combination of a fast rate of
rotation and strong magnetic field leads to high electrical currents in the upper atmosphere, above the
planets’ poles. This, too, can cause auroral “light” shows in their upper atmosphere.

corona: The envelope of the sun (and other stars). The sun’s corona is normally visible only during a
total solar eclipse, when it is seen as an irregularly shaped, pearly glow surrounding the darkened disk of
the moon.

coronal holes: Parts of the sun’s corona (outer envelope) that are cooler and thinner than average.

electron: A negatively charged particle, usually found orbiting the outer regions of an atom; also, the
carrier of electricity within solids.

gravity: The force that attracts anything with mass, or bulk, toward any other thing with mass. The more
mass that something has, the greater its gravity.

grid: (in electricity) The interconnected system of electricity lines that transport electrical power over
long distances. In North America, this grid connects electrical generating stations and local communities
throughout most of the continent.

magnetic field: An area of influence created by certain materials, called magnets, or by the movement
of electric charges.

particle: A minute amount of something.

planet: A large celestial object that orbits a star but unlike a star does not generate any visible light.

plasma: (in chemistry and physics) A gaseous state of matter in which electrons separate from the atom.
A plasma includes both positively and negatively charged particles.

poles: (in Earth science and astronomy) The cold regions of the planet that exist farthest from the
equator; the upper and lower ends of the virtual axis around which a celestial object rotates.

proton: A subatomic particle that is one of the basic building blocks of the atoms that make up matter.
Protons belong to the family of particles known as hadrons.

satellite: A moon orbiting a planet or a vehicle or other manufactured object that orbits some celestial
body in space.
solar: Having to do with the sun or the radiation it emits. It comes from sol, Latin for sun.

solar wind: A flow of charged particles (including atomic nuclei) that have been ejected from the surface
of the star, such as our sun. It can permeate the solar system. When emitted by a star other than the
sun, this radiation is known as a stellar wind.

space weather: Conditions on the sun, in the solar wind and within Earth’s upper atmosphere that can
affect technologies on Earth and that have the potential to endanger human health. Triggering these
weather events are the stream of plasma, or solar wind, emitted by the sun. In addition, there are clouds
of material spewed by the sun, known as coronal mass ejections. Together, these can contribute to large
magnetic and electrical storms in Earth’s upper atmosphere.

sun: The star at the center of Earth’s solar system. It is about 27,000 light-years from the center of the
Milky Way galaxy. Also a term for any sunlike star.

technology: The application of scientific knowledge for practical purposes, especially in industry — or
the devices, processes and systems that result from those efforts.

weather: Conditions in the atmosphere at a localized place and a particular time. It is usually described
in terms of particular features, such as air pressure, humidity, moisture, any precipitation (rain, snow or
ice), temperature and wind speed. Weather constitutes the actual conditions that occur at any time and
place. It’s different from climate, which is a description of the conditions that tend to occur in some
general region during a particular month or season.

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