Which is the space weather for tomorrow?

The active Sun has an incontestable influence on our Planet and its environment. The effects of the solar-terrestrial relations are known as space weather. Forecasting the space weather conditions is crucial as they affect our life, via:

- Geomagnetic storms which are caused by impacts of coronal mass ejections on the terrestrial magnetosphere, leading to very rapid changes of the geomagnetic field. This can induce strong currents in the extended electric
conductors like high voltage lines or pipelines. The consequences are power outages and damaged transformers, or rapid corrosion of pipelines.

- Energetic protons and electrons that are produced by flares and coronal mass ejections, and which can damage the electronics of satellites, and endanger astronauts.

- Enhanced electromagnetic radiation, mainly X-rays from flares modify the upper atmosphere, which absorbs this radiation, is heated up, increasing the air density in the range of low satellite orbits. Satellites can deviate from their orbits due to the enhanced aerodynamic drag and eventually crash. This radiation can also change the structure of the ionosphere, which in turn can affect the short-wave radio communications, but also for navigation systems like GPS, since precise position requires exact modeling of the propagation of satellite signals through the ionosphere.

4 comments

1. Space says:

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   Perhaps, time to step from research to applications. And Space Weather stations would be very important, on Earth and in Space, especially closer to the Sun, to provide more advanced warnings.
2. meyer says:

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   Research work on this subject should be highly supported.
3. Peking1948 says:

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   This doesn’t appear to have much to do with the category Human Health – unless a downed satellite lands on your head.
4. alanwood says:

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   Research work in this area is vital. As described in the question a better understanding of space weather would bring a direct, and significant, economic impact.