Related module pages:

A Public Outreach Module:
Solar Wind, Genesis, and the Planets

Solar Max and the Solar System

The solar wind has a negligible effect on the movements of solar system planets, but it can have other profound effects in their immediate vicinity. The Earth's magnetic field protects our atmosphere, our water supply, and us, its inhabitants, from the searing affect of the solar wind's ionized gases, but a Solar Max has some negative effects on our magnetosphere. We will also look at what we know about the magnetospheres of other solar planets and the possible affects of a Solar Max on their atmospheres.

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For a more technical description, take a Closer Look at
The Structured Sun and Solar Max: At the Core of the Matter.