Table of Contents
What is the density of the solar wind?
about 3 – 10 particles per cubic centimeter
At the orbit of the earth the average solar wind consists of a strongly ionized gas having a proton and electron density of about 3 – 10 particles per cubic centimeter, with an average flow velocity of approximately 400 km/s.
What happens when Earth’s magnetic field interacts with the solar wind?
If a planet has a magnetic field, it will interact with the solar wind to deflect the charged particles and form an elongated cavity in the solar wind. They are slowed by the interaction with the earth to produce a bow shaped shock wave around the earth.
What effect does solar wind have on other planets like Mercury Venus and Mars?
This solar wind slams worlds across the solar system with particles and radiation – which can stream all the way to planetary surfaces unless thwarted by an atmosphere, magnetic field, or both.
What is the density of the sun’s corona?
The density at the base of the corona is about 4 × 108 atoms per cubic centimetre, 1013 times more tenuous than the atmosphere of Earth at its base. Because the temperature is high, the density drops slowly, by a factor of e (2.718) every 50,000 kilometres.
What is solar wind quizlet?
Solar Wind. A stream of electrically charged particles that flow outward from the Sun’s corona.
How does Earth’s magnetic field deflect solar wind?
The solar wind does not impact Earth directly but is deflected—like a stream diverted around a boulder—by our planet’s magnetic field, which forms a tear-drop-shaped cavity in the solar wind flow.
Where are the solar winds seen interacting with Earth’s magnetic field?
magnetopause
The boundary between the solar wind and Earth’s magnetic field is called the magnetopause.
How does solar wind affect the planets?
These high-energy solar wind particles cause aurora at planets with a magnetic field, but they can also be disruptive to planet atmospheres and surfaces. This rain of plasma particles can collide with particles high up in a planet’s atmosphere, giving the atmospheric particles enough energy to escape a planet.
What is the density of the Sun’s surface?
Bulk parameters
| Sun | Ratio (Sun/Earth) | |
|---|---|---|
| Volumetric mean radius (km) | 695,700. | 109.2 |
| Mean density (kg/m3) | 1408. | 0.255 |
| Surface gravity (eq.) (m/s2) | 274.0 | 28.0 |
| Escape velocity (km/s) | 617.6 | 55.2 |
What is the density of the Sun’s interior?
Being a star, the sun’s density varies considerably between its outer layers and its core. On average, it has a density of 1.408 g/cm3, which is roughly one-quarter that of Earth. However, models of the sun estimate that it has a density of 162.2 g/cm3 closer to the core, which is 12.4 times that of Earth.