Space Weather and the Magnetosphere

These flashcards cover key vocabulary terms related to space weather, the magnetosphere, and their effects on Earth.

Solar Wind

The stream of charged particles released from the upper atmosphere of the sun, composed mainly of electrons and protons.

Magnetosphere

The region around the Earth dominated by its magnetic field, which protects the planet from solar wind.

Coronal Mass Ejection (CME)

A significant release of plasma and magnetic field from the solar corona that can disturb the Earth's magnetosphere.

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.

Radiation Belts

Regions of trapped charged particles around the Earth, primarily within the Van Allen belts.

Galactic Cosmic Rays (GCRs)

High-energy protons and other atomic nuclei that travel through space and originate mostly from outside the solar system.

Ionosphere

A region of the Earth's upper atmosphere, from about 30 miles to several hundred miles above the surface, where ionization occurs due to solar radiation.

Interplanetary Magnetic Field (IMF)

The magnetic field carried with the solar wind, which affects solar wind plasma and interacts with Earth's magnetic field.

Parker Spiral

The spiral shape of the interplanetary magnetic field lines resulting from the solar rotation.

Van Allen Probes

NASA spacecraft designed to study the Earth's radiation belts by measuring charged particles and electromagnetic fields.

Space Weather

The conditions in space, originating from the Sun, that can affect Earth and its technological systems.

Aurora (Australis/Borealis)

A natural light display in the Earth's sky, predominantly seen in high-latitude regions, caused by the collision of energetic charged particles from the solar wind with atoms in the high-altitude atmosphere.

Solar Flare

A sudden, intense burst of radiation emanating from the Sun's surface, often associated with sunspots and coronal mass ejections, releasing energy across the electromagnetic spectrum.

Magnetopause

The outer boundary of the magnetosphere, where the pressure of the Earth's magnetic field is balanced by the dynamic pressure of the solar wind.

Ground-Induced Currents (GICs)

Electric currents induced in long conductors on Earth's surface, such as power grids and pipelines, during geomagnetic storms due to variations in the Earth's magnetic field.