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Tracking a Solar Storm
How can we predict solar storms to protect satellites, power grids, and astronauts?
- Predict which sunspots may be a source of solar storms!
- Discover when solar storms occur and predict which ones will affect Earth!
- Measure disturbances to Earth's magnetic field and predict auroras!
- Know when to watch for auroras!
Once thought to be unchanging, the Sun is now known to vary constantly. Changes in the activity of the Sun occur in eleven-year cycles. Sunspots can appear and disappear over days or weeks. Flares and large ejections of mass (coronal mass ejections) occur in time spans of minutes to hours. The energy of the Sun constantly blows out a 'solar wind' of electrified particles that is the extended atmosphere of the Sun.
Abrupt changes on the Sun can create flares and coronal mass ejections that blast brief but powerful 'solar storms' into space. Earth is surrounded by a magnetic field (magnetosphere) that protects us from the worst effects of solar storms. However, solar storms can cause fluctuations in the magnetosphere called magnetic storms. These magnetic storms have disabled satellites and burned out transformers shutting down power grids. These storms also can endanger astronauts. These magnetic storms contribute to more intense auroras that can be seen closer to the equator than is usual.
Click on Sunspotters, Storm Signals, Magnetosphere, or Auroral Friends to get tutorials to help you understand and use the data.
Click on Space Weather Resources to get to all the data immediately.
NEWS BULLETIN
The sun has been quiet the past week as it continues to progress into solar minimum. What is solar minimum? Read "The Changing Sun" in the Content Enhancement.
Features
| Sun-Earth Viewer:View live images of the Sun, watch interviews of scientists, and get illustrations and visualizations in our Flash viewer. |
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Tools and Resources:A complete list of live data links for each section and other useful links can be found here. A must for advanced students. |
- NASA Official: Dr. James Thieman
- Project Manager: Don Robinson-Boonstra
- Website Manager: Bryan Stephenson