MOLINE, Ill. — On Monday, Sept. 5, Meteorologist Andrew Stutzke talked about how sunspot activity influences the hurricane season here on Earth. How else do weather conditions in outer space affect us?
In our solar system, the sun causes extraterrestrial weather events. The sun constantly spits out its gaseous material, charged with electricity, in one space phenomenon called "solar wind."
Solar wind blows at speeds ranging from 600,000 mph to 2,000,000 mph. When it hits the Earth’s magnetic field, the wind pushes on the part of the field facing the sun and pushes out on the opposite side.
Solar flares and coronal mass ejections (CMEs) — larger bursts of plasma and electromagnetic radiation— are more negative space weather events that can be very bad for humans and electronic equipment if they reach Earth.
How space weather affects us on Earth:
The Aurora Borealis (northern lights) and Aurora Australis (southern lights) are a direct result of solar winds. The winds follow the magnetic field's lines of force, leading the charged particles to flow downwards into Earth's atmosphere near the poles.
When there is “bad” space weather, that's when we can feel the most effects here on Earth. Increased amounts of solar activity can interrupt radio signals, damage satellites and knock out electrical systems.
The negative effects of these phenomena can be as simple as disrupting your cell phone's GPS or as complex and troublesome as knocking out the navigational systems used by airplanes or ships out on the ocean.
Airplane crew members that often fly over the North Pole can be physically affected by space weather since the poles are where the sun's rays enter the Earth’s atmosphere.
Astronauts living at the International Space Station or out on missions can't leave their spacecraft during bad weather events. This is due to the risk of dangerous health problems that extra radiation can cause.
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