Solar wind is a continuous, supersonic outflow of ionized plasma from the solar corona into interplanetary space, consisting primarily of electrons, protons, and alpha particles embedded in the interplanetary magnetic field. It arises from coronal heating and open magnetic field structures, with typical speeds of ~300–800 km/s and densities of a few particles per cubic centimeter at 1 AU. Solar wind exhibits distinct regimes, notably fast and slow wind with differing composition and turbulence properties, and drives key heliophysical phenomena including the formation of the heliosphere, bow shocks, and magnetospheric dynamics such as geomagnetic storms and auroral activity.
Aside from sunlight, the sun sends out a gusty stream of particles called the solar wind. The ESA-led Solar Orbiter mission is the first to capture on camera this wind flying out from the sun in a twisting, whirling motion. ...
Astronomy
Mar 27, 2025
0
1
Following a successful launch in the early hours of Wednesday morning (12 March 2025) U.K. time, the PUNCH spacecraft are poised to begin their two-year mission to study the sun's outer atmosphere and its transformation into ...
Space Exploration
Mar 13, 2025
0
0
Qi Zhang, a doctoral student at the Swedish Institute of Space Physics and Umeå University, explores in her doctoral thesis the interaction between Mars and the stream of charged particles from the sun, the solar wind. Her ...
Planetary Sciences
Mar 7, 2025
0
1
The Earth is immersed in material streaming from the sun. This stream, called the solar wind, is washing over our planet, causing breathtaking auroras, impacting satellites and astronauts in space, and even affecting ground-based ...
Astronomy
Feb 24, 2025
0
25
The largest solar storm in two decades hit Earth in May 2024. For several days, wave after wave of high-energy charged particles from the sun rocked the planet. Brilliant auroras engulfed the skies, and some GPS communications ...
Planetary Sciences
Feb 6, 2025
0
109
There are trillions of charged particles—protons and electrons, the basic building blocks of matter—whizzing around above your head at any given time. These high-energy particles, which can travel at close to the speed ...
Planetary Sciences
Feb 5, 2025
0
31
In 2023, the European Space Agency reported on Solar Orbiter's discovery of tiny jets near the sun's south pole that could be powering the solar wind. The team behind this research has now used even more data from the European ...
Astronomy
Feb 5, 2025
0
17
The sun, a searing hot sphere of gas primarily composed of hydrogen and helium, boasts surface and outer atmospheric temperatures ranging from 10,000 to 3.6 million degrees Fahrenheit on its surface and its atmosphere's outermost ...
Planetary Sciences
Jan 18, 2025
0
56
Mars's atmosphere and climate are impacted by interactions with solar wind, a stream of plasma comprised of protons and electrons that flows from the sun's outermost atmosphere (corona), traveling at speeds of 400–1,000 ...
The aurora borealis, or northern lights, is known for a stunning spectacle of light in the night sky, but this near-Earth manifestation, which is caused by explosive activity on the sun and carried by the solar wind, can ...
Planetary Sciences
Jan 9, 2025
0
74
