Check for Understanding

Answer the following questions to see how much you know about space weather.

1. What kinds of effects can solar storms have on Earth?
   
   Responses should include disruptions in electrical service, failure of communication and navigational satellites, formation of the aurora borealis (Northern Lights) and the aurora australis (Southern Lights), and disruption of animals’ natural navigational mechanisms.
   
   
2. What causes the magnetic eruptions on the sun?
   
   The sun is a star that produces constantly changing magnetic fields. The sun’s nuclear core, its varying temperatures, and uneven rotation cause magnetic fields to twist and erupt from the surface.
   
   
3. What gives Earth some natural protection against incoming solar radiation?
   
   Solar x-rays and radioactive particles are blocked or deenergized before they reach Earth’s surface by the Van Allen Belts. These doughnut-shaped areas are full of ionized gases that encircle Earth. They are buffer zones between Earth and the sun and help trap high-energy particles from space.