Space Weather FX 03 Script
Copyright 2008 MIT Haystack Observatory
SWFX 03:
When Space Weather Attacks
Narrated by Philip J. Erickson
Video of a space storm
When space weather attacks, the effect on a planet’s upper atmosphere can be as
beautiful as a display of aurora borealis.
[aurora borealis; power grid scene]
Or, it can cause dangerous disruptions of communications systems and power grids.
[astronaut in space]
And even pose a threat to astronauts working in near-Earth space.
Scientists at MIT’s Haystack Observatory work to measure the effects on our planet as
the Sun stirs up a little space weather.
[Title Sequence]
[PHIL on camera]
So what happens to a planet during a space weather attack? Let’s take Earth as an
example.
[labeled animation of a magnetosphere]
It moves through space protected by a thick atmosphere and a magnetosphere, which is
a region around the planet that is influenced by our magnetic field. The two are very
tightly coupled together.
[animation of magnetosphere; crossfades to Earth and magnetosphere and solar storm]
The magnetic field extends out about 65,000 kilometers from Earth’s surface on the side
facing the Sun.
[animation of plasma and magnetic field lines]
Space Weather FX 03 Script
Copyright 2008 MIT Haystack Observatory
When a solar outburst rams into our magnetosphere, plasma is guided along magnetic
field lines to places where it collides with molecules of gas in our upper atmosphere.
[animation showing our ionosphere and propagation]
Solar ultraviolet radiation and x-rays also interact each day with the gases at the top of
our atmosphere to create the ionosphere.
The ionosphere allows radio signals to travel from place to place around the planet, a
process known as propagation.
Any changes in the ionosphere due to a solar outburst will also affect the propagation of
radio waves, disrupting or shutting down radio communications.
[November 2003 solar storm sequence from SOHO]
When a storm bursts out from the Sun, the first thing to hit Earth’s ionosphere is a
blizzard of energetic particles. These particles are a danger to spacecraft and
astronauts.
Without the protective blanket of our atmosphere and magnetic field, life on Earth would
also suffer serious effects from exposure to this strong solar radiation.
[Earth with circulating electric fields near the pole; lights go out]
One of the consequences of a solar outburst is the appearance of huge circulating
electrical currents about 100 kilometers up in our atmosphere. The magnetic fields from
those electric currents can overload power grids and shut them down.
[animation of plasma from the Sun hitting Earth]
Understanding how Earth’s magnetosphere and ionosphere interact with the solar wind,
especially during outbursts, is a big step forward in learning how to protect ourselves
from the effects of space weather.
[Closing sequence, credits, URL]