Wednesday, June 19, 2013

What is space weather and what research is SDO doing with space weather?

Space weather is (1) the study of eruptive solar activity (solar storms) such as solar flares, coronal mass ejections, solar energetic particles, (2) the effect these storms have on Earth, the rest of the solar system (for example the other planets) and (3) the effect on our technology in space and on Earth.

SDO has provided incredibly detailed observations of the sun and the areas that produce space weather activity. This includes observing the growth of sunspot regions (main flare and major CME producers) as well as the birth of CMEs and the evolution of solar prominences, which often produce large CMEs.  Link to larger version of the picture http://sdo.gsfc.nasa.gov/gallery/main/item/150