Question

Part 1: Use complete sentences to explain why solar winds occur. Part 2: Give two examples in which solar winds impact Earth.

Answer 1

Part 1

When the solar atmosphere accumulates a lot of magnetic energy to a point that cannot accumulate more, all that magnetic energy is suddenly released, and with it, a lot of radiation. So much, that in fact it covers all of the electromagnetic spectrum; from radio waves to gamma rays. That burst of radiation is called a solar flare. In a single solar flare the amount of radiation released is millions of times greater than all the nuclear bombs in the face if the earth exploding together. Lucky for us, most of the high-energy radiation dissipates before reaching the Earth, and the radiation that do reach us, is deflected by the Earth’s magnetic field.

Part 2

1.  Not all the radiation of solar flares that reach the Earth is deflected by its magnetic field; some of them reach us and charges the upper atmosphere with ionized particles. Those particles react with the gases in the atmosphere and produce a light; that light is what we call Auroras borealis or southern nights; One the most beautiful natural spectacles in earth, who thought Auroras begin their lives as deadly solar flares.

2.  Solar flares contain a lot of high-energy radiation that is extremely dangerous for our electronic devices; when they reach the Earth, they can damage sensible electronics like satellites. A very powerful solar flare could even damage all the electronic devices on the surface of the Earth.