Chapter 10 - Space Weather at Earth and in Our Solar System

Abstract

Abstract The solar wind, flares, solar eruptions, and energetic particles are able to affect the near-Earth geospace directly through a variety of physical mechanisms. This is referred to as “space weather,” which is discussed in this chapter. At Earth, this occurs primarily through solar radio emissions, heating of the upper atmosphere by the additional ultraviolet radiation associated with flares, and compression and reconnection of Earth s magnetic field by the solar wind and interplanetary transients. These interactions between Earth s environment and these solar and interplanetary phenomena also occur in slightly different forms at other planets in our solar system and are thought to exist in many other exoplanetary systems. Here, we review past decades of space weather research in the solar system and discuss parallels to exoplanetary systems.