VIDEO

VIDEO

Unlocking the Secrets of Space Weather

Unlocking the Secrets of Space Weather

Video. What is space weather?

Grades

4 - 12+

Subjects

Earth Science, Astronomy, Meteorology, Engineering

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Transcript (English)

- [Narrator] It's hard to imagine weather being more than rain on our weekend or ice on our roads. But space weather can affect the globe, especially in the way we communicate and power our world. Space weather is the environmental conditions outside of our planet, originating from the massively energetic output of the sun.

- [David] The solar wind is primarily comprised of protons and electrons. They're streaming outward from the sun at speeds of up to a million miles an hour, and they're constantly bombarding the earth's magnetic field.

- [Narrator] Satellites have been launched to study solar wind, solar flares, coronal mass ejections, and other behaviors of the sun. These phenomena impact our atmosphere sometimes with devastating force.

- So space weather includes power outages in high latitude power grids, includes disruption of spacecraft, includes radiation that can harm astronauts in space.

Transcripción (Español)

- DESCUBRE EL SECRETO DEL CLIMA ESPACIAL

- [Narrador] Es difícil imaginar que el clima sea más que lluvia en nuestro fin de semana o hielo en nuestras carreteras. Pero el clima espacial puede afectar al mundo entero, especialmente en la forma en que nos comunicamos e impulsamos nuestro mundo. El clima espacial son las condiciones ambientales fuera de nuestro planeta, que se originan del output masivamente energético del sol.

- [David] El viento solar está compuesto principalmente de protones y electrones. Están fluyendo hacia afuera desde el sol a velocidades de hasta un millón de millas por hora, y están bombardeando constantemente el campo magnético de la tierra.

- [Narrador] Se han lanzado satélites para estudiar el viento solar, llamaradas solares, eyecciones de masa coronal, y otros comportamientos del sol. Estos fenómenos impactan nuestra atmósfera a veces con fuerza devastadora.

- El clima espacial incluye cortes de energía en redes eléctricas de alta latitud, incluye la interrupción de naves espaciales, radiación que puede dañar a los astronautas en el espacio.

- [Narrador] Con cualquier clima, el objetivo es predecir. Todas estas misiones contribuirán a la comprensión de lo que significa realmente vivir con una estrella.

- [Narrator] With any weather, prediction is the goal. These missions will all add to the understanding of what it means to truly live with a star.

Media Credits

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Filmmaker
NASA
Producer
National Geographic Society
other
Last Updated

May 28, 2025

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