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| Source ESA |
Space Weather refers to the environmental conditions in space influenced by solar activity.
What kind of solar activity exist? The best known are coronal mass ejections (CME), flare radiation, energetic protons and energetic radiation belt particles (escaping from earth magnetic field). Beside solar activity we have also cosmic activity, known as cosmic rays.
What's the effect of Space Weather? As seen in the picture above, it seems all kind of "radiation" has potential impact on our day to day life. Impact on electronics, navigation, power distribution, pipe line corrosion, radio communication, but also increased radiation dose during flights with airplanes and in space. Did you know that flying on an altitude of 10km results in a dose of 10 micro Sievert per hour. Average exposure is about 2 à 2,5 milli Sv/Year or 5 micro Sv/hour, so flying doubles the exposure.
For a live view on space weather see following websites:
* ESA Space Situational Awareness
* SIDC - Solar Influences Data Analysis Center
