Space Weather

Dr. Piyush Kuchhal

 Definition of Space Weather
• Space weather is the emerging field within the
space sciences that studies how the Sun
influences Earth’s space environment and the
technological and societal impacts of that
interaction – damage to or destruction of Earth-
orbiting satellites and threats to both astronaut
safety during long-duration missions to the Moon
and Mars and to the reliability and accuracy of
global communications and navigation systems.
• Space weather is the description of changes in
the ambient plasma, magnetic fields, radiation,
and other matter in space. Much of space
weather is driven by energy carried through
interplanetary space by the solar wind from
regions near the surface of the Sun and the Sun's
atmosphere (chromosphere and corona).
➢ Like weather, space weather has its roots in the Sun.
➢ The main distinctions between the two types of weather are where it
takes place and the type of energy from the Sun that influences it.
➢ For weather, we are most concerned with the troposphere, which
extends from Earth’s surface to the top of the highest clouds at about
10 km.
➢ Space weather science is interested in the space environment around
Earth all the way to the Sun. Space begins in a region of Earth’s
atmosphere called the thermosphere, which starts at roughly 100
km.
➢ The space shuttle and space station fly at an altitude of about 350
km
➢ The second difference between weather and space weather is the
type of solar energy that influences the two regions. The Sun
continuously emits two main types of energy into space –
electromagnetic (EM) radiation and corpuscular radiation.
➢ Visible light, radio waves, microwaves, infrared, ultraviolet, X-
rays, and gamma rays are forms of EM radiation.
➢ The Sun also continuously emits corpuscular (minute particle)
radiation, charged atoms and sub-atomic particles (mostly protons
and electrons) in what is called the solar wind. Like winds on
Earth, the solar wind is driven by temperature differences, but
those differences are between the Sun’s upper atmosphere and
interplanetary space
➢ The solar wind, which expands out into the Solar System carrying
with it the Sun’s magnetic field, carves out a region of interstellar
space called the heliosphere (“helios”, Greek for Sun).
➢ The solar wind is not steady or uniform, but changes constantly.
These changes affect Earth’s space environment in a number of
ways, including creation of new corpuscular radiation that bombards
Earth’s upper atmosphere, causing aurorae (northern and southern
lights) and large electrical currents that can disrupt communication,
power grids, and satellite navigation.
➢ Occasionally the Sun’s surface erupts and sends a large part of the
solar mass streaming away at high speeds. These events, called
coronal mass ejections (CMEs), can contain 1012 kg of material and
can move away from the Sun at over 1000 km s-1
➢ If CMEs are directed towards Earth, a great space storm can
develop far above our heads, crippling satellites, causing
increased radiation exposure for airline crews and passengers,
blacking out some forms of radio communication, and disrupting
power systems on Earth.

➢ These space storms, like weather storms such as Hurricane

Katrina in 2005, have caused severe damage to technological
systems in the past. In March 1989, a large CME slammed into
Earth causing massive power outages in eastern Canada. The
emerging science of space weather is attempting to understand
the causes of space storms and their impact on Earth’s
technological infrastructure with the hope that we can forecast
space weather and mitigate damage.
 Effects of Space Weather
• Disruption of GPS and other spacecraft signals
• Disruption of long-distance radio signals
• Effect of radiation on humans at and near ground level
• Space weather effects electronic circuitry of satellites causing
damage
• Space weather can damage solar panels of satellites
• Ground Induced Current: electrical transmission, pipelines
• Effect of space weather on terrestrial weather
• Ships at sea require good navigation signals to stay on route.
 Effects of Space Weather
• Navigation errors can lead to wasted fuel, groundings and spilled
cargo.
• Plane navigation will also be effected.
• Radio signals can get lost and absorbed, bounce and miss the
receivers.
• Especially communication over the poles will be problematic.
• Transformers can be damaged by geomagnetic storms
• Pipelines can corrode due to geomagnetic storms. This corrosion
can cause loss and damage
Effects of Space Weather
 Geomagnetic Storm
• A geomagnetic storm is a temporary disturbance of the Earth's
magnetosphere.
• Associated with solar coronal mass ejections, coronal holes, or
solar flares, a geomagnetic storm is caused by a solar wind shock
wave which typically strikes the Earth's magnetic field 24 to 36
hours after the event.
• The increase in the solar wind pressure initially compresses the
magnetosphere and the solar wind's magnetic field interacts with
the Earth’s magnetic field and transfers an increased energy into
the magnetosphere.
• Both interactions cause an increase in plasma movement through
the magnetosphere (driven by increased electric fields inside the
magnetosphere) and an increase in electric current in the
magnetosphere and ionosphere.
➢ During large solar wind disturbances, the magnetopause can be
pushed inside the geosynchronous orbit. At such times, the
magnetic field at GEO increases to as much as twice its
“quiescent” value. In addition, the magnetic field outside the
magnetopause will have a polarity that is predominantly opposite
to that inside the magnetosphere.

➢ The impacts on communications spacecraft of solid objects, such

as from mircrometeoroids and from debris left in orbit from space
launches and from satellites That break up for whatever the
reason, can seriously disorient a satellite and even Cause a total
loss.
➢ The ultraviolet emissions from the sun change by more than a
factor of two at wavelengths at 170 nm during a solar cycle. The
heating of the atmosphere by the increased solar UV radiation
causes the atmosphere to expand. The heating is sufficient to
raise the “top” of the atmosphere by several hundred km during
solar maximum. The greater densities at the higher altitudes
result in increased drag on both space debris and on
communications spacecraft in low Earth orbits (LEO).
 Effect of Space Weather in Ground
Systems
• Disruption of GPS and other spacecraft signals
• Disruption of long-distance radio signals
• Effect of radiation on humans at and near
ground level
• Ground Induced Current: electrical
transmission, pipelines
• Effect of space weather on terrestrial weather
 Radio Signals Effects
• Many communication systems utilise the ionosphere to reflect radio
signals over long distances. Ionospheric storms can affect radio
communication at all latitudes. Some radio frequencies are
absorbed, while others are reflected, leading to rapidly fluctuating
signals and unexpected propagation paths.
• SPEs can produce a particular type of disturbance called Polar Cap
Absorption (PCA) that can last for many days. When very energetic
protons enter the atmosphere over the polar regions, the enhanced
ionization produced at these low altitudes is particularly effective in
absorbing HF radio signals and can render HF communications
impossible throughout the polar regions. At a recent SW
conference, several US air carriers indicated that they might cancel
trans-polar flights due to such space weather events. Radio signals
can get lost and absorbed, bounce and miss the receivers.
• Especially communication over the poles will be problematic.
 Electric Power Effects
• The enhanced currents that flow in the magnetosphere-ionosphere system
during geomagnetic storms can affect the National Grid. These currents
cause magnetic field perturbations on the ground that in turn induce other
currents in long transmission lines, especially those located at high
latitudes. The slowly varying “DC” part of the currents can be large enough
to cause overheating and damage to systems designed for “AC”. The
reliability of power supplies to critical ATC ground equipment cannot be
overstated.

• Transformers can be damaged by geomagnetic storms Blackouts can be

widespread.
 Pipeline Effects
• Pipelines can corrode due to geomagnetic storms.
This corrosion can cause loss and damage
 Space Radiations
➢Outside the protective cocoon of the Earth’s atmosphere is a universe full of
radiation – it is all around us.
➢Space radiation is comprised of atoms in which electrons have been stripped
away as the atom accelerated in interstellar space to speeds approaching the
speed of light – eventually, only the nucleus of the atom remains.
➢ Space radiation also has very different effects on human DNA, cells and
tissues. This is due largely to the increased ionization that takes place near the
track a particle of space radiation takes through a material. Ionizing radiation
has so much energy it can literally knock the electrons out of any atom it
strikes – ionizing the atom. This effect can damage the atoms in human cells,
leading to future health problems such as cataracts, cancer and damage to the
central nervous system.
 What is Space Radiation?
➢Space radiation is made up of three kinds of radiation: particles trapped in the
Earth’s magnetic field; particles shot into space during solar flares (solar particle
events); and galactic cosmic rays, which are high-energy protons and heavy ions
from outside our solar system. All of these kinds of space radiation represent
ionizing radiation.

➢Flares and Coronal Mass Ejections When a solar flare or a coronal mass
ejection occurs (the two often occur at the same time, but not always), large
amounts of high-energy protons are released, often in the direction of the
Earth. These high-energy protons can easily reach the Earth’s poles and high-
altitude orbits even in less than 30 min.
 What is Space Radiation?

➢Galactic Cosmic Rays

▪ Galactic cosmic rays include heavy, high-energy ions of elements that have had
all their electrons stripped away as they journeyed through the galaxy at nearly
the speed of light. Cosmic rays, which can cause the ionization of atoms as they
pass through matter, can pass practically unimpeded through a typical spacecraft
or the skin of an astronaut.

▪ Because these particles are affected by the Sun’s magnetic field, their average
intensity is highest during the period of minimum sunspots when the Sun’s
magnetic field is weakest and less able to deflect them. Also, because cosmic rays
are difficult to shield against and occur on each space mission, they are often
more hazardous than occasional solar particle events. They are, however, easier
to predict than solar particle events
 Effects of Space Radiation?
➢The energy that ionizing radiation loses as it travels through a material
or living tissue is absorbed by that material or living tissue. The
ionization of water and other cell components can damage DNA
molecules near the path the particle takes – a direct effect of which is
breaks in DNA strands including clusters of breaks near one another;
breaks that are not easily repaired by cells. Such DNA break clusters are
much less frequent, or do not occur at all, when cells are exposed to the
types of radiation found on Earth.

➢Because it can disrupt an atom, space radiation also can produce more
particles, including neutrons, when it strikes a spacecraft or an
astronaut inside a spacecraft – this is called a secondary effect. Future
research will develop the knowledge to understand how initial damage
to DNA and cells from heavy ions relates to increased risks for cancer or
other health effects, and how biological countermeasures to such risks
can be developed.
 How Much Space Radiation Do
Astronauts Receive?
The amount of space radiation an astronaut may be exposed to while orbiting
the Earth depends on a number of factors:
▪ Orbital inclination – the closer a spacecraft’s orbit takes it to the Earth’s
poles (where the Earth’s magnetic field concentrates ionizing particles), the
higher the radiation levels will be.
▪ Altitude above the Earth – at higher altitudes the Earth’s magnetic field is
weaker, so there is less protection against ionizing particles, and spacecraft
pass through the trapped radiation belts more often.
▪ Solar cycle – the Sun has an 11-year cycle, which culminates in a dramatic
increase in the number and intensity of solar flares, especially during
periods when there are numerous sunspots.
▪ Individual’s susceptibility – researchers are still working to determine what
makes one person more susceptible to the effects of space radiation than
another person.
 Measuring Radiation
➢The absorbed dose of radiation is the amount of energy deposited by
radiation per unit mass of material.

➢It is measured in units of rad (radiation absorbed dose) or in the

international unit of Grays (1 Gray = 1 Gy = 1 Joule of energy per kilogram
of material = 100 rad). The mGy (milliGray = 1/1000 Gray) is the unit
usually used to measure how much radiation the body absorbs. However,
because different types of radiation deposit energy in unique ways, an
equivalent biological dose is used to estimate the effects of different types
of radiation. Equivalent dose is measured in milliSieverts (mSv). The mSv,
therefore, takes into account not only how much radiation a person
receives, but how much damage that particular type of radiation can do –
the greater the possibility of damage for the same dose of radiation, the
higher the mSv value.
 Measuring Radiation
➢ Crews aboard the space station receive an average of 80 mSv for a six-
month stay at solar maximum (the time period with the maximum number
of sunspots and a maximum solar magnetic field to deflect the particles)
and an average of 160 mSv for a six-month stay at solar minimum (the
period with the minimum number of sunspots and a minimum solar
magnetic field).

➢The other unit is rem or roentgen (R)

Protecting Current and Future Space
Station Crews
➢To determine acceptable levels of risk for astronauts, NASA
follows the standard radiation protection practices
recommend-ed by the U.S. National Academy of Sciences
Space Science Board and the U.S. National Council on
Radiation Protection and Measurements. Aboard the space
station, improving the amounts and types of shielding in
the most frequently occupied locations, such as the
sleeping quarters and the galley, has reduced the crew’s
expo-sure to space radiation. Materials that have high
hydrogen con-tents, such as polyethylene, can reduce
primary and secondary radiation to a greater extent than
metals, such as aluminum.
 Protecting Current and Future Space
Station Crews
➢Space station crew members each wear physical dosimeters,
and also undergo a biodosimtery evaluation measuring
radiation damage to chromosomes in blood cells (see figure
above). Active monitoring of space radiation levels also can
help reduce the levels of radiation an astronaut receives by
helping the astronauts locate the best-shielded locations on
the station. The monitoring also serves as a warning should
radiation levels increase due to solar disturbances. Following
a healthy diet and lifestyle, including the use of antioxidants
following radiation exposure, should also reduce risks.
 Protecting Current and Future Space
Station Crews
➢A radiation dosimeter is a device that measures exposure
to ionizing radiation. As a personal dosimeter it is normally
worn by the person being monitored, and is a record of the
radiation dose received. Modern electronic personal
dosimeters can give a continuous readout of cumulative dose
and current dose rate, and can warn the person wearing it
when a specified dose rate or a cumulative dose is exceeded.