SOLAR STORMS
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SOLAR STORMS
TOPIC: Science & Tech
Context- Through analysis of ice cores from Greenland and Antarctica, a research team has found evidence of an extreme solar storm that occurred about 9,200 years ago.
Concept-
What is a Solar Storm?
- A solar storm or a Coronal Mass Ejection as astronomers call it is an ejection of highly magnetized particles from the sun.
- These particles can travel several million km per hour and can take about 13 hours to five days to reach Earth.
- Earth’s atmosphere protects us, humans, from these particles.
- This field of research helps to understand Space Weather.
- They can trigger intense light in the sky on Earth, called auroras.
- Some of the energy and small particles travel down the magnetic field lines at the north and south poles into Earth’s atmosphere.
- There, the particles interact with gases in the atmosphere resulting in beautiful displays of light in the sky.
- The aurora in Earth’s northern atmosphere is called an aurora borealis or northern lights. It’s southern counterpart is called an aurora australis or the southern lights.