EVERYDAY SCIENCE

Detailed explanation-1: -The solar wind is created by the outward expansion of plasma (a collection of charged particles) from the Sun’s corona (outermost atmosphere). This plasma is continually heated to the point that the Sun’s gravity can’t hold it down. It then travels along the Sun’s magnetic field lines that extend radially outward.

Detailed explanation-2: -First proposed in the 1950s by University of Chicago physicist Eugene Parker, the solar wind is visible in the halo around the sun during an eclipse and sometimes when the particles hit the Earth’s atmosphere-as the aurora borealis, or northern lights.

Detailed explanation-3: -Then, in 1973, the origins of the fast solar wind were identified. X-ray images of the corona taken from Skylab-the U.S.’s first manned space station-revealed that the fast wind spews from coronal holes, which are dark, comparatively cool regions on the Sun.

Detailed explanation-4: -If solar wind speeds are high enough geomagnetic storms can be triggered which can lead to auroras expanding closer to the equator than is possible during calmer space weather conditions. Geomagnetic storms can also wreak havoc with satellites and electricity networks and threaten astronauts in space.