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"Space weather" describes the conditions in
space that affect Earth. Since the conditions in space are
entirely different from the conditions in the lower atmosphere which
gives us winds, rain, storms etc., the word weather here is used
figuratively.
The Sun sends out streams of fast moving high-energy particles, the
so-called solar wind into the space. The Earth's upper
atmosphere is usually shielded from the direct effects of the solar
wind by the magnetic bubble of the magnetosphere. Therefore,
most of the time space weather does not concern our everyday
lives. However, the sun's condition is not steady, and when
the space environment is disturbed by the exceptionally strong outputs
of the Sun, it can cause power outages, telecommunications failures,
satellite malfunction, higher doses of radiation during space and polar
flights, etc.
The Hong Kong Observatory started the space weather webpage in 2004.
This new webpage
is an enhancement to inform the readers how space weather can
affect our daily life and to provide the readers with the latest
warnings of "storms" of space weather so that precautionary measures
can be taken in a timely manner.
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