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Space Weather Knowledge Hub

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SPACE WEATHER LITERATURE

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‘Space Weather’ is the Short Term Conditions in the interplanetary space, near earth environment and in all the Earth’s other atmospheric spheres, particularly caused by the solar activity and its associated electric and magnetic out flux.

So, unlike the weather that we experience on the earth surface, most of the Space Weather effects remain in the upper atmosphere and ionosphere and beyond in space and are not readily perceptible to us.

However, in a similar way that we have defined weather and climate, the Long-term variations in the frequency, intensity and relative importance of the manifestations of solar activity, which are due to the slow changes in the output of the solar dynamo, define the Space Climate. Space climate governs long-term variations in geomagnetic activity and is the primary natural driver of terrestrial climate.

To understand how the variable solar activity affects the near Earth’s environment, geomagnetic activity and the atmospheric system on both short and long time scales, we need to first know and understand the solar activities itself. We also need to know its different manifestations, as well as the sequence of coupling processes linking various parts of the system.

The Sun, in addition to giving us light and heat, also emits highly energetic charged particles. These charged particles, emitted from the sun’s surface, particularly from Sun’s corona, are in the form of plasma. Due to difference in pressure between the sun’s surface and the interplanetary space, they spread out with high velocity, through the interplanetary space, and is called as the Solar Wind.

This solar wind also brings with them, the magnetic force lines, coupled tightly along with them. This is called the Interplanetary Magnetic Field (IMF).

It is these charged plasma and the associated magnetic field that causes the interplanetary conditions to vary electrically and magnetically and gives rise to various phenomena, as they interact with other fields and particles and therefore, defines the Space Weather.

Within our own solar system, space weather is determined and factored by the speed and density of the solar wind and the direction and intensity of the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) carried by the solar wind plasma. As these components of the Solar wind reaches the earth and interacts with the earth’s geomagnetic fields, different Space Weather phenomena and events take place.

As far as the earth is concerned, the solar wind is responsible for the overall shape of Earth’s magnetosphere. The fluctuations in its speed, density, direction, and those of the coupled magnetic field, strongly affect Earth’s local space environment. For example, the levels of ionizing radiation and radio interference can vary by factors of hundreds to thousands; and the shape and location of the magnetopause and bow shock wave upstream of it can change by several Earth radii, exposing geosynchronous satellites to the direct solar wind. These phenomena, collectively, are the effects of space weather.

The interaction between the solar wind, IMF and the geomagnetic field, also penetrate deep down towards the earth surface and disturb the magnetic field there. A variety of physical phenomena are associated with space weather, including geomagnetic storms and substorms, energization of the Van Allen radiation belts, ionospheric disturbances and scintillation, aurora and geomagnetically induced currents at Earth’s surface.

Coronal mass ejections (CME) and their associated shock waves are also important drivers of space weather. As the Solar energetic particles, accelerated by these phenomena, can compress the magnetosphere and trigger geomagnetic storms. They can also damage electronics onboard spacecraft through induced electric currents, and more importantly, can threaten the life of astronauts.

There is also some concern that geomagnetic storms may also expose conventional aircraft flying at high altitudes to increased amounts of radiation.

An understanding of space environmental conditions is important to shield the Earth and its life and resources from the raze of the Sun.

The Sun is a middle aged star located nearly somewhere at the midway of the disc of the Milky way galaxy. The Sun is 4.6 billion years old and is about to live for almost the same time. It is a nearly perfect sphere of hot plasma, radiating the energy mainly as visible light, ultraviolet light, and infrared radiation. It is the father figure of the Solar system and the only important source of energy for the planets. It is due to the Sun that life can thrive on Earth.

The size of the Sun is neither big, nor small compared to other stars in the galaxy. Compared to the planets that revolves round this Sun, it is 10 times larger in radius than Jupiter and more than 100 times that of Earth. Therefore more than 1 million Earths can be accommodated within the Sun.

The mass is about 330,000 times that of Earth. The sun accounts for about 99.86% of the total mass of the Solar System. Sun is made up of mostly hydrogen and Helium. and traces of heavier elements, including oxygen, carbon, neon and iron.

Structural Components

The Sun is made up of different sections, namely the Core, the Radiative Zone, the Convective Zone, the Photosphere, the Chromosphere and the Corona.

Core: The Sun’s core is the volume occupied at the center of it. It extends up to about 20% of the Sun’s radius. There are dense distribution of the particles in the core. The constituent Hydrogen atoms fuses here to form Helium ions. About 600 million tons of hydrogen into helium every second, converting 4 million tons of matter into energy every second as a result. The fusion process releases energy, and the core gradually becomes enriched in helium. The temperature of the core is about 5 million degree Kelvin. It is the hottest place of the whole solar system known to man so far.
Radiative zone : Convection cannot occur until much nearer the surface of the Sun. Therefore, between about 20–25% of the radius, and 70% of the radius, there is a “radiative zone” in which energy transfer occurs by means of radiation (photons) rather than by convection.
Convective zone: Between about 70% of the Sun’s visible surface Photosphere, the transfer of hear takes place through Convection. Here, the Sun is cool and diffuse enough for convection to occur, and this becomes the primary means of outward heat transfer.
Photosphere: This is the visible portion of the Sun, i.e., the deepest part of the Sun which we can directly observe with visible light. The temperature here is about 5000 K. This region is what we can see as the surface of the sun.
Chromosphere and Corona: This is the atmosphere of the Sun comprising of the gaseous atmosphere surrounding the Sun, constituted by the chromosphere, and corona. These can be seen when the main part of the Sun is hidden, for example, during a solar eclipse when the main disc of the sun remains covered by the moon.

Coronal heating problem

The temperature of the photosphere is approximately 6,000 K, whereas the temperature of the corona reaches from 1 to 2 million K. This temperature is much higher than that of the Photosphere. The high temperature of the corona, which is even higher than the temperature of the Photosphere, exhibits an anomaly. The heat source being the solar core, it is expected that the temperature of the the outer corona will be lower than the photosphere, which is located comparatively inward. This anomaly indicates that the solar corona is heated by something other than direct heat conduction from the photosphere.

There are different hypotheses put forward for explaining the coronal heating problem. The first is wave heating, in which sound, gravitational or magnetohydrodynamic waves are produced by turbulence in the convection zone. These waves travel upward and dissipate in the corona, depositing their energy in the ambient matter in the form of heat. The other is magnetic heating, in which magnetic energy is continuously built up by photospheric motion and released through magnetic reconnection in the form of large solar flares and nanoflares.

Radiation and Emission

The Sun radiates a wide spectrum of waves. In addition to the spectrum of visible lights, the IR and UV an EUV radiations are also obtained from the Sun. Radiation from the Sun, which is more popularly known as sunlight, is a mixture of electromagnetic waves ranging from infrared (IR) to ultraviolet rays (UV). It of course includes visible light, which is in between IR and UV in the electromagnetic spectrum. The fusion taking place in the core also results in the emission of the high energy gamma rays. However, as the gamma ray photons make their arduous journey to the surface of the Sun, they are continuously absorbed by the solar plasma and re-emitted to lower frequencies. By the time they get to the surface, their frequencies are mostly only within the IR/visible light/UV spectrum. The Sun also emits X Rays which are primarily observed during the solar flares.

In addition to the radiated waves, the sun also emits different particles. The solar constituent hydrogen ions or simply protons are emitted in large numbers from the surface of the Sun. In additions, the electrons are also emitted. This perennial flow of protons and electrons constitute the Solar Wind, which travels from the Sun into the interplanetary space and affects the solar system in many ways.

Sometimes there are large eruptions of highly energetic solar mass from the Corona and is known as the Coronal Mass Ejection (CME).

The solar wind is a continuous stream of charged particles ejected from the upper atmosphere of the Sun.

It mostly consists of electrons and protons with energies usually between 10 and 100 keV. These particles can escape the Sun’s gravity because of their high kinetic energy and the high temperature of the corona and assisted by the low pressure in the interplanetary space. The stream of emitted particles varies in temperature and speed over time. The solar wind creates a vast bubble of such charged particles that includes the Solar System and extends beyond it. This is called the Heliosphere. All the planets and other bodies in the Solar system and inside this Heliosphere.

It was the British astronomer Richard Carrington, who observed that a sudden outburst of energy from the Sun’s atmosphere is followed by a geomagnetic storm on the earth. He, therefore, proposed that, there must be something that is coming from the Sun and reaching the Earth. George Fitzgerald later suggested that, matter was being regularly accelerated away from the Sun and was reaching the Earth after several days. The ideas of Fitzgerald and others were further developed by the Norwegian physicist Birkeland. He observed that the Auroral activities are nearly uninterrupted. As these displays and other geomagnetic activity were being produced by particles from the Sun, he concluded that the Earth was being continually hit by energetic charged particles emitted by the Sun. Birkeland also mentioned about the electrical nature of the solar wind, pointing out that, they are neither exclusively negative nor positive rays, but of both kinds. In other words, the solar wind consists of both negative electrons and positive ions. Also in the 1950s, a German scientist named Ludwig Biermann observed that, no matter whether a comet is headed towards or away from the Sun, its tail always points away from the Sun. Biermann postulated that this happens because the Sun emits a steady stream of particles that pushes the comet’s tail away.

Parker showed that even though the Sun’s corona is strongly attracted by solar gravity, it is such a good conductor of heat that it is still very hot at large distances. Since gravity weakens as distance from the Sun increases, the outer coronal atmosphere escapes supersonically into interstellar space. Opposition to Parker’s hypothesis on the solar wind was strong. The paper he submitted to the Astrophysical Journal in 1958 was rejected by two reviewers. It was saved by the editor Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar (who later received the 1983 Nobel Prize in physics).

However, detailed calculations showed that only thermal energy cannot provide enough velocity to the particles to escape the gravitational pull of the Sun. It is the additional electric field created by the accelerating electrons that fills the deficit.

Read the article and attempt this simple Quiz on Solar Wind

Components:

There are primarily two kinds of solar winds, viz. the slow solar wind and the fast solar wind. The slow solar wind has a velocity of about 400 km/s, while the fast solar wind has a typical velocity of 750 km/s. at any time, the solar wind particle velocity remains near one of these two. Further, the slow solar wind has density is typically more than twice as dense and more variable in intensity than the fast solar wind. The slow solar wind originates from the Coronal region of the Sun while the fast winds originate from the coronal hole. The coronal holes are the funnel-like regions of open field lines in the Sun’s magnetic field. These are more abundant near the poles of the Sun.

During the time of solar minimum, the sources of the slow winds remains confined near the equatorial region of the Sun. This region is known as the ‘Streamer Belt’ and extends up to 35° on both sides of the solar equator. The fast winds blow from the Poles. As the Sun turns more active, the area covered by the Slow wind sources extends towards the poles and at the Solar Maximum activity period, most of the Sun’s surface emit slow winds.

The particle density of the solar wind is around 10 particles /m³ at the distance of the Earth, i.e. 1 AU from the earth. Then, the total number of particles carried away from the Sun by the solar wind becomes about 1.3×10^36 per second. If we consider the particles as Protons, then the total mass loss is 6.7 billion tons per hour. So, the mass loss each year is about (2–3)×10−14 solar masses. However, only about 0.01% of the Sun’s total mass has been lost through the solar wind.

This plasma in the solar wind are tightly coupled with the Magnetic field of the Sun. When these plasma move away from the Sun, they also brings with them, the magnetic force lines. This is called the Interplanetary Magnetic Field (IMF).

These charged plasma and the associated magnetic field fills up the interplanetary space. As they move out of the sun, due to the motion of the Sun, they spread out in a curved path, due to what is called as the ‘Garden hose effect’. These charges and fields engulfs the whole Solar system and a very large space even beyond it.

This solar wind interacts with the Geomagnetic field of the earth and also interacts with the other planets. This causes the interplanetary conditions to vary electrically and magnetically and gives rise to various phenomena, which defines the Space Weather.

Sometimes, solar winds are enhanced with other solar phenomena, like the coronal mass ejection, resulting in large deviations in our Geomagnetic Field, a condition termed as, Geomagnetic Storms that can knock out power grids on Earth, the Aurora (northern and southern lights) and affect the Earth’s Ionosphere.

The solar wind “blows a bubble” covering the Solar system and beyond. This is known as the Heliosphere. Outside it is the interstellar medium. The point where the solar wind’s strength is no longer great enough to push back the interstellar medium is known as the Heliopause, which is the outer “border” of the solar system. The distance to the heliopause is not precisely known, and probably varies widely depending on the current velocity of the solar wind and the local density of the interstellar medium, but it is known to lie far outside the orbit of Pluto. In 2010, Voyager 1 determined the presence of solar wind, at its location 10.8 billion miles from Earth, which had almost slowed down to zero there. This was the Heliopause.

The earth behaves like a huge magnet and it has its own magnetic field. This magnetic field surrounds the earth from all sides. These magnetic fields help us to find the direction on the earth surface, determines the flow of plasma in the ionosphere and acts as a protective shield against many threats originating from outer space.

The magnetic field is directed from the geographic south pole towards the geographic north pole. As any magnetic north pole is deflected to align in the direction of the magnetic field, the north pole of any magnetic needle, which are used in the compass, always points towards the Geographic North.

The magnetic field is created from inside the earth. One hypothesis says that the rotation of the charged molten magma inside the earth surface is the cause of the generation of the magnetic field. Although, this seems to be the most obvious and correct proposition, the hypothesis has not yet been proven.

The magnetic field surrounds the earth up to a large distance on all sides. This region, much above the earth’s atmosphere, where the magnetic fields are predominant, such that any moving charged particles are affected by it, is called the Magnetosphere. The earth’s magnetosphere, is not like the field of a bipolar magnet. It has a typical shape, which is more compressed towards the Sun side and extended to form a large tail-like structure to the opposite side. The Sun side magnetosphere has a radius of about 10 Earth-radii, while on the opposite side it extends to much longer lengths. This structure is mainly due to the Solar Wind, impinging on it.

There are highly energetic charged particles which are emitted from the sun and flows through the interplanetary space in form of Solar Winds. These hot plasma, if enters to the earth’s lower atmosphere can lead to catastrophic effects. One theory suggests that the planet Mars, which does not have a magnetosphere, lost its atmosphere as it was swept away by the solar wind plasma. Similar effect could have happened to Earth also. But, thanks to the magnetosphere that there still exists life on earth. Many events like the Geomagnetic storms, substorms, Aurora etc. happen due to the interaction of the Solar wind and the Earth’s magnetosphere.

However, it is also apprehended that the magnetic field has secular variations. The geomagnetic field is changing in both direction and intensity. The field will gradually depreciate and will disappear one day. Then, again there will be appreciation of the same with the reversal of the field direction. That, similar phenomena have happened many times over the earth, has evidences in many forms. The change, however, is very slow and will take thousands of years to happen so.

The Aurora Borealis (Northern Lights) and Aurora Australis (Southern Lights) are the result of electrons colliding with the upper reaches of Earth’s atmosphere. (Protons cause faint and diffuse aurora, usually not easily visible to the human eye.) The electrons are energized through acceleration processes in the downwind tail (night side) of the magnetosphere and at lower altitudes along auroral field lines. The accelerated electrons follow the magnetic field of Earth down to the Polar Regions where they collide with oxygen and nitrogen atoms and molecules in Earth’s upper atmosphere. In these collisions, the electrons transfer their energy to the atmosphere thus exciting the atoms and molecules to higher energy states. When they relax back down to lower energy states, they release their energy in the form of light. This is similar to how a neon light works. The aurora typically forms 80 to 500 km above Earth’s surface.

Earth’s magnetic field guides the electrons such that the aurora forms two ovals approximately centered at the magnetic poles. During major geomagnetic storms these ovals expand away from the poles such that aurora can be seen over most of the United States. Aurora comes in several different shapes. Often the auroral forms are made of many tall rays that look much like a curtain made of folds of cloth. During the evening, these rays can form arcs that stretch from horizon to horizon. Late in the evening, near midnight, the arcs often begin to twist and sway, just as if a wind were blowing on the curtains of light. At some point, the arcs may expand to fill the whole sky, moving rapidly and becoming very bright. This is the peak of what is called an auroral substorm.

Then in the early morning the auroral forms can take on a more cloud-like appearance. These diffuse patches often blink on and off repeatedly for hours, then they disappear as the sun rises in the east. The best place to observe the aurora is under an oval shaped region between the north and south latitudes of about 60 and 75 degrees. At these polar latitudes, the aurora can be observed more than half of the nights of a given year.

When space weather activity increases and more frequent and larger storms and substorms occur, the aurora extends equatorward. During large events, the aurora can be observed as far south as the US, Europe, and Asia. During very large events, the aurora can be observed even farther from the poles. Of course, to observe the aurora, the skies must be clear and free of clouds. It must also be dark so during the summer months at auroral latitudes, the midnight sun prevents auroral observations. Photo by Neal Brown (Fairbanks)

A geomagnetic storm is a major disturbance of Earth’s magnetosphere that occurs when there is a very efficient exchange of energy from the solar wind into the space environment surrounding Earth. These storms result from variations in the solar wind that produces major changes in the currents, plasmas, and fields in Earth’s magnetosphere. The solar wind conditions that are effective for creating geomagnetic storms are sustained (for several to many hours) periods of high-speed solar wind, and most importantly, a southward directed solar wind magnetic field (opposite the direction of Earth’s field) at the dayside of the magnetosphere. This condition is effective for transferring energy from the solar wind into Earth’s magnetosphere.

The largest storms that result from these conditions are associated with solar coronal mass ejections (CMEs) where a billion tons or so of plasma from the sun, with its embedded magnetic field, arrives at Earth. CMEs typically take several days to arrive at Earth, but have been observed, for some of the most intense storms, to arrive in as short as 18 hours. Another solar wind disturbance that creates conditions favorable to geomagnetic storms is a high-speed solar wind stream (HSS). HSSs plow into the slower solar wind in front and create co-rotating interaction regions, or CIRs. These regions are often related to geomagnetic storms that while less intense than CME storms, often can deposit more energy in Earth’s magnetosphere over a longer interval.

Storms also result in intense currents in the magnetosphere, changes in the radiation belts, and changes in the ionosphere, including heating the ionosphere and upper atmosphere region called the thermosphere. In space, a ring of westward current around Earth produces magnetic disturbances on the ground. A measure of this current, the disturbance storm time (Dst) index, has been used historically to characterize the size of a geomagnetic storm. In addition, there are currents produced in the magnetosphere that follow the magnetic field, called field-aligned currents, and these connect to intense currents in the auroral ionosphere. These auroral currents, called the auroral electrojets, also produce large magnetic disturbances. Together, all of these currents, and the magnetic deviations they produce on the ground, are used to generate a planetary geomagnetic disturbance index called Kp. This index is the basis for one of the three NOAA Space Weather Scales, the Geomagnetic Storm, or G-Scale, that is used to describe space weather that can disrupt systems on Earth.

During storms, the currents in the ionosphere, as well as the energetic particles that precipitate into the ionosphere add energy in the form of heat that can increase the density and distribution of density in the upper atmosphere, causing extra drag on satellites in low-earth orbit. The local heating also creates strong horizontal variations in the in the ionospheric density that can modify the path of radio signals and create errors in the positioning information provided by GPS. While the storms create beautiful aurora, they also can disrupt navigation systems such as the Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) and create harmful geomagnetic induced currents (GICs) in the power grid and pipelines.

SELECT YOUR REQUIRED REFERENCE

Want ot have the preliminary knowledge on the Space Weather components? Just click on the box you want to read.

Space Weather: It is an open access journal that publishes original research articles and commentaries devoted to understanding and forecasting space weather and other interactions of solar processes with the Earth environment, and their impacts on telecommunications, electric power, satellite navigation, and other systems.

Journal of Space Weather and Space Climate (JSWSC) is an international multi-disciplinary and interdisciplinary peer-reviewed gold open access journal that publishes papers on all aspects of space weather and space climate in the solar system and beyond. JSWSC welcomes high-quality manuscripts from a broad range of scientific and technical fields of interest to the space weather and space climate communities.

Nature - Space WeatherUncover the latest and most impactful research in Space Weather. Explore pioneering discoveries, insightful ideas and new methods from leading researchers in the field.

SpaceTech Daily

Space Weather- Wikipedia

SPACE WEATHER SATELLITES

All activities pertaining to the advancement of Space Weather need precise measurements of related parameters. Space Weather measurements are done from space and ground stations. Follow us here to know details of the Space Weather satellites.

WIND

Launched in 1994, WIND is part of the International Solar-Terrestrial Physics (ISTP) program. It studies solar wind and plasma waves, and has been a workhorse for understanding solar-terrestrial interactions, especially in conjunction with other missions

1. Launch Details

Date of Launch: November 1, 1994, at 09:09 UTC
Launching Agency: NASA (managed under the Global Geospace Science program)
Launch Site & Vehicle: Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Launch Complex 17B, aboard a Delta II 7925 rocket
Designed Life vs. Time in Space:
Planned mission duration: 2 years
Actual time in operation (as of August 2025): nearly 31 years and counting

2. Mission Objectives

WIND’s primary goal is to investigate the properties of the solar wind and its interaction with Earth’s magnetosphere and the broader heliosphere. Key objectives include:

Characterize the three-dimensional structure and dynamics of the solar wind plasma and embedded magnetic fields
Measure upstream solar wind to provide context for sub‐storm and magnetospheric investigations
Study plasma waves, turbulence, and shock phenomena in interplanetary space
Support other geospace missions by supplying real‐time upstream solar wind measurements

3. Spacecraft & Orbit

PropertyDetailsOrbit RegimeLissajous orbit around the Sun–Earth L1 pointDistance from Earth~1.5 million km toward the SunLaunch Mass1,386 kg at liftoffPower Supply448 wattsDimensions3.7 m (span across solar arrays) × 1.5 m (main body)

WIND executes station‐keeping maneuvers to maintain its L1 halo orbit, ensuring uninterrupted observations of the upstream solar wind.

4. Payload Instruments

WIND carries a complement of eight instruments to sample fields and particles across a wide energy range:

Magnetic Field Investigation (MFI): Vector measurements of the interplanetary magnetic field
Solar Wind Experiment (SWE): Thermal proton and alpha‐particle distributions
Three‐Dimensional Plasma (3DP): Electron and ion plasma distributions from a few eV to tens of keV
WAVES: Electric and magnetic waveform analyzer covering ~3 Hz to 256 kHz
Energetic Particles: Acceleration, Composition, and Transport (EPACT): Energetic ion and electron measurements
Solar Energetic Particle Monitor (SEPM): High‐energy particle detection for space weather studies
Radio and Plasma Wave Investigation (S/WAVES): Extends WAVES coverage to radio frequencies
Solid State Telescopes (SST): Supra‐thermal ion sampling

5. Major Observations & Contributions

Unveiled the spectral characteristics of solar wind turbulence and its evolution with heliocentric distance
Provided first‐ever continuous upstream solar wind magnetic field data supporting geomagnetic storm forecasting
Captured in situ observations of interplanetary shocks, coronal mass ejections, and magnetic cloud structures
Enabled cross‐calibration and context for missions such as ACE, SOHO, and Ulysses, enhancing our understanding of heliospheric physics

6. Data Availability

NASA CDAWeb: Complete WIND datasets (fields, particles, waves) accessible via https://cdaweb.gsfc.nasa.gov/
Real‐Time Solar Wind: NOAA SWPC upstream solar wind bulletin includes WIND plasma and field streams
Heliophysics Data Portal: Browse and download data products at https://heliophysicsdata.gsfc.nasa.gov/

7. Related Websites

NASA WIND Mission Page
https://science.nasa.gov/missions/wind/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WIND_(spacecraft)
WMO OSCAR Satellite Catalog
https://space.oscar.wmo.int/satellites/view/WIND
NASA Heliophysics Data Portal
https://heliophysics.nasa.gov/

SOHO (Solar and Heliospheric Observatory)

A joint NASA–ESA mission launched in 1995, SOHO has been a sentinel at L1 for nearly three decades. It observes the Sun from its core to corona, tracks solar wind, and has discovered over 5,000 comets. SOHO’s 12 instruments have made it a cornerstone of helioseismology and space weather forecasting.

1. Launch Details

Date of Launch: December 2, 1995 at 08:08:01 UTC
Launching Agencies: European Space Agency (ESA) and NASA
Launch Site & Vehicle: Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Launch Complex 36B aboard a Lockheed Martin Atlas IIAS (AC-121) rocket
Designed Life vs. Time in Space:
Planned mission duration: 2 years
Actual time in operation (as of August 2025): over 29 years and ongoing; mission officially extended through 2025

2. Mission Objectives

SOHO was designed to observe the Sun from its deep core through the outer corona and into the solar wind, aiming to:

Investigate the structure and dynamics of the solar interior via helioseismology
Characterize the physical processes of the chromosphere, transition region, and corona
Monitor the solar wind to improve space weather prediction and understand particle acceleration
Provide continuous context data to support other heliophysics missions

3. Spacecraft & Orbit

PropertyDetailsSpacecraft BusMatra Marconi Space (now Airbus Defence and Space) platformLaunch Mass1,850 kgPayload Mass610 kgDimensions4.3 × 2.7 × 3.7 m; 9.5 m span with deployed solar arraysPower Supply1,500 wattsOrbit RegimeHalo orbit around Sun–Earth L1 Lagrange pointOperational Distance~1.5 million km sunward of Earth

4. Payload Instruments

SOHO carries twelve instruments covering imaging, spectroscopy, and particle analysis:

SUMER: Solar Ultraviolet Measurements of Emitted Radiation
CDS: Coronal Diagnostic Spectrometer
EIT: Extreme Ultraviolet Imaging Telescope
UVCS: Ultraviolet Coronagraph Spectrometer
LASCO: Large Angle and Spectrometric Coronagraph
SWAN: Solar Wind Anisotropies Experiment
CELIAS: Charge, Element, and Isotope Analysis Experiment
COSTEP: Comprehensive Suprathermal and Energetic Particle Analyzer
ERNE: Energetic and Relativistic Nuclei and Electron Experiment
GOLF: Global Oscillations at Low Frequencies
VIRGO: Variability of Solar Irradiance and Gravity Oscillations
MDI/SOI: Michelson Doppler Imager / Solar Oscillations Investigation

5. Major Observations & Contributions

Pioneered helioseismology by detecting solar oscillations, revealing the Sun’s internal structure
Transformed understanding of coronal mass ejections, solar wind acceleration, and particle heating
Discovered over 5,000 comets in near-Sun trajectories, becoming the most prolific comet hunter ever
Serves as a primary source of near-real-time solar wind and coronal data for space weather forecasting
Innovated reaction wheel–based virtual gyroscope stabilization after a critical 1998 anomaly

6. Data Availability

Archive and data products at the Official SOHO Homepage: https://sohowww.nascom.nasa.gov/data/archive/
Near-real-time plots and event lists through the SOHO Science Center at Stanford University
European data mirror via ESA’s SOHO portal: https://sci.esa.int/web/soho

7. Related Websites

NASA Science Mission Page: https://science.nasa.gov/mission/soho/
Official SOHO Homepage: https://sohowww.nascom.nasa.gov/
Wikipedia Entry: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_and_Heliospheric_Observatory
WMO OSCAR Satellite Catalog: https://space.oscar.wmo.int/satellites/view/soho

ACE (Advanced Composition Explorer)

Launched in 1997, ACE sits at the L1 Lagrange point and continuously samples solar wind particles and galactic cosmic rays. It provides early warnings of geomagnetic storms by measuring solar wind speed, density, and magnetic field direction

1. Launch Details

Date of Launch: August 25, 1997 at 14:39 UTC
Launching Agency: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) managed the mission under the Explorer Program2
Launch Site & Vehicle: Cape Canaveral Air Station, Launch Complex 17A aboard a Delta II 7920-8 rocket (vehicle no. D247)
Designed Life vs. Time in Space:
Planned mission duration: 5 years
Actual time in operation (as of mid-2025): almost 28 years and counting

2. Mission Objectives

ACE was engineered to provide high-precision, high-sensitivity measurements of charged particles across a vast energy range, enabling:

Determination of elemental and isotopic composition from hydrogen through zinc in the solar wind, interplanetary medium, and galactic cosmic rays
Continuous, near‐real‐time solar wind monitoring to furnish up to one hour’s warning of geomagnetic storms at Earth’s magnetosphere
Contextual data support for contemporary and future heliophysics missions (e.g., Solar Probe Plus, Solar Orbiter, MMS, ICON, GOLD)

3. Spacecraft & Orbit

PropertyDetailOrbit RegimeLissajous trajectory around the Sun–Earth L1 pointDistance from Earth~1.5 million km toward the SunSpacecraft Mass752 kg at launch (dry mass 562 kg)Power Supply444 wattsDimensions2 m diameter, 1.9 m length, 8.3 m solar array wingspan

ACE occupies a halo orbit about L1, maintaining station with periodic maneuvers to ensure uninterrupted upstream solar wind measurements.

4. Payload Instruments

ACE carries nine core instruments to sample particles and fields:

Solar Wind Ion Mass Spectrometer (SWIMS)
Solar Wind Ion Composition Spectrometer (SWICS)
Ultra-Low Energy Isotope Spectrometer (ULEIS)
Solar Energetic Particle Ionic Charge Analyzer (SEPICA)
Solar Isotope Spectrometer (SIS)
Cosmic Ray Isotope Spectrometer (CRIS)
Solar Wind Electron, Proton, and Alpha Monitor (SWEPAM)
Electron, Proton, and Alpha‐Particle Monitor (EPAM)
Magnetometer (MAG)

5. Major Observations & Contributions

Continual real-time solar wind data stream used by NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center for storm forecasts and warnings
Unprecedented elemental and isotopic resolution of solar particles, refining models of solar and galactic cosmic‐ray origins
Detection of transient solar‐energetic particle events and characterization of their charge states and energy spectra
Baseline measurements critical to calibrate and contextualize data from missions such as Parker Solar Probe and Solar Orbiter

6. Data Availability

Primary Archive: Space Radiation Laboratory, Caltech
Access Portal: http://www.srl.caltech.edu/ACE/ASC/
Real-Time Dashboard: NOAA SWPC provides live plots of EPAM, SWEPAM, MAG, and SIS data

7. Related Websites

NASA Science Mission Page
https://science.nasa.gov/mission/ace/
Wikipedia Entry
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advanced_Composition_Explorer
WMO OSCAR Satellite Catalog
https://space.oscar.wmo.int/satellites/view/ace

DSCOVR (Deep Space Climate Observatory)

Operated by NOAA and NASA, DSCOVR replaced ACE as the primary solar wind monitor at L1 in 2015. It delivers real-time solar wind data crucial for forecasting space weather impacts on Earth’s infrastructure

1. Launch Details

Date of Launch: 11 February 2015, 23:03:42 UTC
Launching Agency: NASA (launch and activation) and NOAA (operational ownership)2
Launch Site & Vehicle: Cape Canaveral Space Launch Complex 40 aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 v1.1 rocket
Designed Life vs. Time in Space:
Planned mission duration: 5 years
Time in operation (as of August 2025): over 10 years and 6 months

2. Mission Objectives

DSCOVR’s refocused mission at the Sun–Earth L1 libration point serves three core objectives:

Provide real-time measurements of solar wind plasma and interplanetary magnetic fields, enabling early warnings of geomagnetic storms for Earth’s magnetosphere.
Monitor Earth’s radiation budget by measuring reflected and emitted solar radiation, underpinning climate research and tracking radiative forcing trends2.
Capture high-resolution, multi-spectral images of the sunlit Earth’s disk for atmospheric, aerosol, cloud, and vegetation studies via the EPIC camera.

3. Spacecraft & Orbit

PropertyDetailsBus & ManufacturerSMEX-Lite platform by NASA Goddard Space Flight CenterLaunch Mass570 kg (1,260 lb)Dimensions1.4 × 1.8 m (undeployed)Power Supply600 wattsOrbit RegimeHalo orbit around Sun–Earth L1 Lagrange pointDistance from Earth~1.5 million km toward the Sun

4. Payload Instruments

Earth Polychromatic Imaging Camera (EPIC): Ten-channel UV–VIS–NIR radiometer for ozone, aerosol, cloud, and vegetation monitoring
NIST Advanced Radiometer (NISTAR): Three-cavity instrument measuring total and reflected solar radiation to quantify Earth’s energy budget
Pulse Height Analyzer (PHA): High-linear-energy-transfer spectrometer for characterizing energetic particle impacts on spacecraft electronics
PlasMag Suite:
Faraday Cup (FC): Measures solar wind ion flux and composition
Electron Spectrometer (ES): Provides full 3D distribution functions of solar wind electrons
Magnetometer (MAG): Vector measurements of the interplanetary magnetic field at L1 for space weather forecasting

5. Major Observations & Contributions

Delivers continuous solar wind speed, density, temperature, and magnetic field data to NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center, underpinning geomagnetic storm alerts.
EPIC imagery yields daily global views of Earth’s atmosphere and surface, informing aerosol, cloud, and vegetation analyses for climate studies.
NISTAR’s radiative flux measurements have refined global radiation budget models, crucial for assessing climate change drivers.
PHA and PlasMag data have characterized numerous solar energetic particle events, advancing our understanding of space radiation hazards.

6. Data Availability

Real-Time Portal: NOAA DSCOVR Space Weather Data Portal provides live solar wind, magnetic field, and particle data at https://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/dscovr/portal
Primary Archive: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) archives DSCOVR datasets as part of the International Real Time Solar Wind Network (RTSWnet)

7. Related Websites

NOAA DSCOVR Mission Overview
https://www.nesdis.noaa.gov/current-satellite-missions/currently-flying/dscovr-deep-space-climate-observatory
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deep_Space_Climate_Observatory
WMO OSCAR Satellite Catalog
https://space.oscar.wmo.int/satellites/view/dscovr
eoPortal Mission Summary
https://www.eoportal.org/satellite-missions/dscovr

Parker Solar Probe

This NASA mission consists of four identical spacecraft flying in a tetrahedral formation. Launched in 2015, MMS investigates magnetic reconnection in Earth’s magnetosphere with ultra-high time resolution, revealing the microphysics of space plasma dynamics

1. Launch Details

Date of Launch: August 12, 2018 at 07:31 UTC
Launching Agency: NASA’s Heliophysics Division, managed by Goddard Space Flight Center in partnership with Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory
Launch Site & Vehicle: Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Space Launch Complex 37; Delta IV Heavy rocket with Star 48BV upper stage
Designed Life vs. Time in Space:
Planned mission duration: 7 years
Elapsed mission time (as of August 2025): ~6 years, 11 months (extended operations approved through 2025 and beyond)

2. Mission Objectives

Trace the flow of energy that heats and accelerates the solar corona
Determine the structure and dynamics of the plasma and magnetic fields at the sources of the solar wind
Explore mechanisms that accelerate and transport energetic particles
Revolutionize understanding of solar wind origins and coronal heating by sampling the Sun’s outer atmosphere in situ

3. Spacecraft & Orbit

PropertyDetailSpacecraft BusHexagonal prism bus with deployable solar panels and a cone-shaped thermal protection system (TPS)Launch Mass685 kg (including 130 kg hydrazine propellant)Dimensions3.3 m length × 1 m diameter (bus); ~3.8 m span with arrays deployedThermal Protection Shield11.4 cm-thick carbon-composite heat shieldPower~343 W at closest solar approachOrbit RegimeHeliocentric, highly elliptical, with repeated Venus gravity assistsPerihelion (closest)~6.86 million km (9.86 solar radii)Aphelion (farthest)~109 million km (0.73 AU)Orbital Period~88 days

4. Payload Instruments

FIELDS: Measures electric and magnetic fields, plasma waves, and shock structures
WISPR: Wide-field visible-light imager of the solar corona and inner heliosphere
IS☉IS: Integrated Science Investigation of the Sun, an energetic-particle suite (EPI-Lo & EPI-Hi)
SWEAP: Solar Wind Electrons Alphas and Protons Investigation, sampling solar wind electron, proton, and alpha-particle distributions

5. Major Observations & Contributions

First spacecraft to penetrate the Sun’s outer corona, directly sampling plasma and magnetic fields within ~10 solar radii
Achieved record-breaking speeds exceeding 690,000 km/h (430,000 mph), making it the fastest human-made object
Uncovered magnetic “switchbacks”—sudden reversals in the magnetic field—shedding light on solar wind turbulence
Provided critical data on coronal heating mechanisms and acceleration processes driving the solar wind

6. Data Availability

NASA Mission Page: https://science.nasa.gov/missions/parker-solar-probe/
Johns Hopkins APL Site: https://parkersolarprobe.jhuapl.edu/
NASA SPDF CDAWeb: https://spdf.gsfc.nasa.gov/ — instrument-level data access
Heliophysics Data System: High-level data archived in NASA’s Planetary Data System (PDS) and Heliophysics Data Repository

7. Related Websites

Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parker_Solar_Probe
NSSDCA Spacecraft Details: https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraft/display.action?id=2018-065A
NASA Solar System Exploration: https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/missions/parker-solar-probe/in-depth/

ADITYA- L1

India’s first dedicated solar observatory, launched by ISRO in 2023, is stationed at the Sun–Earth L1 point. It carries seven payloads to study the photosphere, chromosphere, and corona, as well as in-situ solar wind and magnetic field measurements. Its goals include unraveling mysteries like coronal heating, CME initiation, and space weather dynamics

1. Launch Details

Date of Launch: 2 September 2023 at 06:20 UTC
Launching Agency: Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO)1
Launch Vehicle & Site: PSLV-XL C57 from Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota
Designed Life vs. Time in Space:
Planned mission duration: 5.2 years
Actual time in operation (as of August 2025): ~1 year, 11 months

2. Mission Objectives

Aditya-L1 pursues a set of scientific goals centered on solar atmospheric studies and space weather forecasting.

Observe dynamics of the Sun’s chromosphere and corona, including heating processes, coronal mass ejections, and flare mechanisms
Study the composition, origin, and acceleration of the solar wind and its impact on the near-Earth environment
Determine the sequence of processes in multiple solar atmospheric layers that lead to eruptions and influence space weather

3. Spacecraft & Orbit

PropertyDetailSpacecraft BusI-1K platformManufacturerISRO / IUCAA / IIAPayload Mass~1,500 kgOrbit RegimeHalo orbit around Sun–Earth L1 pointOrbital Period~177.86 days

This configuration ensures a constant, uninterrupted view of the Sun from approximately 1.5 million km away for continuous solar monitoring.

4. Payload Instruments

Aditya-L1 carries seven indigenously developed instruments to probe various aspects of the solar atmosphere and space environment.

Visible Emission Line Coronagraph (VELC)
Solar Ultraviolet Imaging Telescope (SUIT)
Solar Low Energy X-ray Spectrometer (SoLEXS)
High Energy L1 Orbiting X-ray Spectrometer (HEL1OS)
Aditya Solar wind Particle Experiment (ASPEX)
Plasma Analyser Package for Aditya (PAPA)
Magnetometer (MAG)

These payloads cover imaging, spectroscopy, particle analysis, and magnetic field measurements to achieve the mission’s comprehensive objectives.

5. Major Observations & Contributions

Soon after insertion into its L1 halo orbit, VELC provided the first high-resolution images of the solar corona, enabling detailed studies of coronal structures and dynamics.

In February 2024, Aditya-L1 detected a powerful solar flare from its vantage point about 1.5 million km away, offering unique insights into flare energetics and early warning potential for space weather forecasting.

Ongoing measurements of solar wind particles and magnetic fields are aiding improved models of solar-terrestrial interactions and enhancing real-time space weather predictions.

6. Data Availability

Primary Archive: ISRO’s Space Science Data Centre (SSDC) provides access to raw and processed science products for Aditya-L1
Mission Portal: Selected data, images, and status updates are released periodically on the official ISRO Aditya-L1 mission page
Research Access: Scientists can request detailed datasets through the SSDC following standard proposal review procedures

7. Related Websites

ISRO Mission Details: https://www.isro.gov.in/Aditya_L1-MissionDetails.html
Wikipedia Entry: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aditya-L1

SPACE WEATHER COMICS

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Choose the fun-way to know about the Space Weather components. Just click on the box to select the language you want to read the comic books in. Languages are alphabetically ordered.

SELECT YOUR FAVOURITE TOPIC

Choose the fun-way to know about the Space Weather components. Just click on the title to select the topic you want to read.

SELECT YOUR FAVOURITE TOPIC

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IMPORTANT: The Comic books are all properties of SCOSTEP and copyrighted by them. We are only making the books accessible through this site.

What is Solar Wind?
What is Aurora?
What is Geomagnetic Field?
What is Sun-Climate Relationship?
What is Global Warming?
What is Ozone Hole?
What is Upper Atmosphere?
What are Polar Regions?
What are Cosmic Rays?

SELECT YOUR FAVOURITE TOPIC

Choose the fun-way to know about the Space Weather components. Just click on the title to select the topic you want to read.

IMPORTANT: The Comic books are all properties of SCOSTEP and copyrighted by them. We are only making the books accessible through this site.

SELECT YOUR FAVOURITE TOPIC

Choose the fun-way to know about the Space Weather components. Just click on the title to select the topic you want to read.

IMPORTANT: The Comic books are all properties of SCOSTEP and copyrighted by them. We are only making the books accessible through this site.

What is Solar Wind?
What is Aurora?
What is Geomagnetic Field?
What is Sun-Climate Relationship?
What is Global Warming?
What is Ozone Hole?
What is Upper Atmosphere?
What are Polar Regions?
What are Cosmic Rays?

SELECT YOUR FAVOURITE TOPIC

Choose the fun-way to know about the Space Weather components. Just click on the title to select the topic you want to read.

IMPORTANT: The Comic books are all properties of SCOSTEP and copyrighted by them. We are only making the books accessible through this site.

Le vent solaire, qu’est-ce que c’est?
Une aurore! Qu’est-ce que c’est?
Qu’est-ce que le champ geomagnetique?
Quelle est la relation entre le Soleil et le climat?
Les régions polaires, qu’est-ce que c’est?
Qu’est-ce que le réchauffement climatique?
Qu’est-ce que le trou d’ozone?
La Haute Atmosphere qu’est ce que c’est?
Les rayons cosmiques, qu’est-ce que c’est?

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IMPORTANT: The Comic books are all properties of SCOSTEP and copyrighted by them. We are only making the books accessible through this site.

Erderwarmung was ist das?

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Choose the fun-way to know about the Space Weather components. Just click on the title to select the topic you want to read.

IMPORTANT: The Comic books are all properties of SCOSTEP and copyrighted by them. We are only making the books accessible through this site.

Что такое полярные сияния (Aurora)?!
Что такое солнечный ветер (Solar Wind)?
Что такое геомагнитное поле (Geomagnetic Field)?
Есть ли связь между солнцем и климатом (Sun-Climate_Relationship)?
Что такое глобальное потепление (Global Warming)?
Что такое озоновая дыра (Ozone Hole)?
Что_такое верхняя атмосферa (Upper Atmosphere)?
Что такое полярные области (Polar Regions)?
Что такое космические лучи (Cosmic Rays)?

SPACE WEATHER COURSES

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SPACE WEATHER FUNDAMENTALS

Discover the secrets of our dynamic Sun and its influence on Earth in this online course. It offers a structured introduction to the physical processes governing solar-terrestrial interactions. Designed for learners seeking scientific rigor, this online course equips participants with foundational knowledge to analyze and interpret dynamic space weather conditions. Whether you're a curious beginner or a science enthusiast, this program unlocks the forces behind the Solar flares, solar winds, auroras, solar storms, and magnetospheric waves—all from the comfort of home. Join the journey into space science!

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OTHER UPCOMING SPECIALIZED COURSES

Space Weather and GNSS

Space Weather Data Processing

Space Weather Models

Using AI for Space Weather

Data Sources of Space Weather

Space Weather and Ionosphere

Space Weather at Low latitudes

Using MATLAB for Space Weather

SPACE WEATHER QUIZ

LEVEL - 02 : INTERMEDIATE

This is the second level of quiz with the inrermediate levels of questions. The questions encompass the fundamentals and few basic informations related to space weather

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LEVEL - 03 : ADVANCED

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