{"dataset":{"slug":"space-weather-phenomena","title":"Space-Weather Phenomena","description":"Solar wind, flares, coronal mass ejections, geomagnetic storms, and auroras.","version":"1.0.0","lastGenerated":"2026-06-29","license":"CC BY-SA 4.0","entityCount":13,"sources":["nasa","noaa"]},"entities":[{"id":"space_weather_phenomenon:active-region","name":"Active Regions","type":"space_weather_phenomenon","domain":"science","description":"Areas of strong, complex magnetic field on the Sun, usually marked by sunspots, where magnetic energy builds up and is released. Active regions are the launch sites of the largest solar flares and coronal mass ejections, and are watched closely for space-weather forecasting.","entryPath":"/heliophysics/active-region"},{"id":"space_weather_phenomenon:aurora","name":"Aurora","type":"space_weather_phenomenon","domain":"science","description":"The glow produced when energetic particles from the magnetosphere spiral down Earth's magnetic-field lines and excite gases in the upper atmosphere — the visible signature of space weather over the polar regions.","entryPath":"/space-environment/aurora"},{"id":"space_weather_phenomenon:coronal-hole","name":"Coronal Holes","type":"space_weather_phenomenon","domain":"science","description":"Regions of the Sun's corona where the magnetic field opens out into space rather than looping back, appearing dark in X-ray and ultraviolet images. They are the source of the fast solar wind, and the high-speed streams they send out drive recurring geomagnetic activity.","entryPath":"/heliophysics/coronal-hole"},{"id":"space_weather_phenomenon:coronal-mass-ejection","name":"Coronal Mass Ejection (CME)","type":"space_weather_phenomenon","domain":"science","description":"An enormous eruption of magnetised plasma from the Sun's corona, launching billions of tonnes of material into space. When aimed at Earth, a CME can drive the largest geomagnetic storms one to three days later.","entryPath":"/space-environment/coronal-mass-ejection"},{"id":"space_weather_phenomenon:geomagnetic-storm","name":"Geomagnetic Storm","type":"space_weather_phenomenon","domain":"science","description":"A temporary disturbance of Earth's magnetosphere, driven by the arrival of a fast solar wind or a coronal mass ejection. Strong storms can disrupt satellites, power grids, and navigation, and drive bright auroras.","entryPath":"/space-environment/geomagnetic-storm"},{"id":"space_weather_phenomenon:heliopause","name":"Heliopause","type":"space_weather_phenomenon","domain":"science","description":"The outer boundary of the heliosphere, where the outward pressure of the solar wind balances the pressure of the interstellar medium — the edge of the Sun's domain, crossed by the two Voyager spacecraft.","entryPath":"/space-environment/heliopause"},{"id":"space_weather_phenomenon:heliosphere","name":"Heliosphere","type":"space_weather_phenomenon","domain":"science","description":"The vast bubble of solar wind and magnetic field that surrounds the entire Solar System, carving out a cavity in the surrounding interstellar medium and shielding the planets from a fraction of the galactic cosmic rays.","entryPath":"/space-environment/heliosphere"},{"id":"space_weather_phenomenon:magnetosphere","name":"Magnetosphere","type":"space_weather_phenomenon","domain":"science","description":"The region around a planet dominated by its magnetic field, which deflects the solar wind and traps charged particles. Earth's magnetosphere shields the surface from most space radiation.","entryPath":"/space-environment/magnetosphere"},{"id":"space_weather_phenomenon:solar-flare","name":"Solar Flare","type":"space_weather_phenomenon","domain":"science","description":"A sudden, intense burst of radiation from the Sun's surface, released when magnetic energy in the corona is explosively reconfigured. The X-rays arrive in minutes and can ionise Earth's upper atmosphere, causing radio blackouts.","entryPath":"/space-environment/solar-flare"},{"id":"space_weather_phenomenon:solar-wind","name":"Solar Wind","type":"space_weather_phenomenon","domain":"science","description":"The continuous stream of charged particles — mostly protons and electrons — that flows outward from the Sun's corona at hundreds of kilometres per second, filling the Solar System and shaping planetary magnetospheres.","entryPath":"/space-environment/solar-wind"},{"id":"space_weather_phenomenon:sunspot","name":"Sunspots","type":"space_weather_phenomenon","domain":"science","description":"Dark, cooler patches on the Sun's visible surface where intense magnetic fields suppress the flow of heat from below. Their number rises and falls with the solar cycle, and they mark the magnetically active regions from which flares and CMEs erupt.","entryPath":"/heliophysics/sunspot"},{"id":"space_weather_phenomenon:ionosphere","name":"The Ionosphere","type":"space_weather_phenomenon","domain":"science","description":"The ionised layer of Earth's upper atmosphere, created by solar ultraviolet and X-ray radiation. It reflects and refracts radio waves — enabling long-distance HF communication — but solar flares and geomagnetic storms disturb it, causing radio blackouts and errors in satellite navigation.","entryPath":"/heliophysics/ionosphere"},{"id":"space_weather_phenomenon:solar-cycle","name":"The Solar Cycle","type":"space_weather_phenomenon","domain":"science","description":"The roughly eleven-year rise and fall of the Sun's activity, traced by the number of sunspots from solar minimum to solar maximum and back. Its underlying magnetic cycle takes about twenty-two years, as the Sun's polarity flips and returns. Activity — flares, CMEs, and storms — peaks near solar maximum.","entryPath":"/heliophysics/solar-cycle"}]}