Artist's rendition of a CME swirling outward through the Solar System.
Click on image for full size
NASA

Space Weather throughout the Solar System

The Sun is huge. It has an effect on things even if they are far from the Sun. The "bubble" where the Sun has an effect on things is called the heliosphere. It goes even past Pluto! The place where the "bubble" ends is called the heliopause.

That means that the solar wind that comes from the Sun affects all of the planets, their moons and even comets within our Solar System.

Some day astronauts will go far from Earth, and their safety will depend on our knowledge of how the Sun affects things in the heliosphere.

Last modified September 4, 2008 by Randy Russell.

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