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ANSWER 1 Solar wind is a combination of electrically charged stream of atomic particles – electrons, protons, with small proportions of heavier nuclei and the entrained solar magnetic field emitted from the sun’s atmosphere. E. N. Parker in 1958 showed that due to the very high temperatures of the corona the pressure exerted results in an outflow of material into the interplanetary space in all directions in a phenomenon he called “solar wind”. Solar wind is an extremely radially outward at a speed of 500 kilometres per second which is variable in response to the varying solar activity. The particles normally takes about 4 to 5 days to reach earth. The radial flow of the solar wind and the rotation of the sun, wind the solar magnetic field into a spiral which makes an angle of 45 degrees at the earth’s orbit. The study of the solar wind becomes important as it contributes to the phenomenon such as aurorae and magnetic storms. Continue reading "What is solar wind?"