Does ALL solar activity impact Earth? Why or why not?
Not all solar activity affects the Earth because the Earth’s magnetic field repels most of the solar wind. Occasionally solar flares, prominences, and coronal holes (holes in the sun’s atmosphere) send high levels of electromagnetic radiation toward the Earth in the form of X-rays. Some activity, like mass ejections, are directional. Earth may not be in the path of a particular ejection so all activitiy does not affect Earth.
We can divide solar activity into four main components. Solar flares, coronal mass ejections, high speed solar wind, and solar energetic particles. Solar flares impact Earth only when they occur on the side of the Sun facing Earth. Because flares are made of photons, these travel out directly from the flare site, so if we can see the flare, we can be impacted by it. Coronal mass ejections, also called CMEs, are large clouds of plasma and magnetic field that erupt from the Sun. These clouds can erupt in any direction, and then continue on in that direction, plowing right through the solar wind. Only when the cloud is aimed at Earth will the CME hit Earth and therefore cause impacts. High speed solar wind streams coming from the Sun come from special areas on the Sun known as coronal holes. These holes can form anywhere on the Sun and usually only when they are closer to the equator than to the solar poles do the winds they produce impact Earth. Solar energetic particles are high energy
Not all solar activity affects the Earth because the Earth´s magnetic field repels most of the solar wind. Occasionally solar flares, prominences, and coronal holes (holes in the sun´s atmosphere) send high levels of electromagnetic radiation toward the Earth in the form of X-rays. -student Some activity, like mass ejections, are directional. Earth may not be in the path of a particular ejection so all activity does not affect Earth.
