Genesis : Search for Origins | JPL

Return to the homepage of the public module Solar Wind, Genesis, and the Planets. Related module pages: Solar Wind Solar Max and Genesis Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs) Solar Max and Solar Wind Solar Max and the Genesis Spacecraft Solar Max and the Solar System The Earth's Magnetosphere Solar Max and the Earth's Magnetosphere Genesis and the Earth's Magnetosphere Spacecraft and the Earth's Magnetosphere Planets and Magnetospheres				SCIENCE


				A Public Outreach Module: Solar Wind, Genesis, and the Planets How does a Solar Max affect the solar wind? The activity of the solar magnetic fields during a Solar Max cycle affects the magnetic fields carried by the Solar Wind. Particular emissions from coronal mass ejections (CMEs) can travel outward from the sun on the solar wind at speeds up to 1,000-1,500 km/sec. The Genesis spacecraft has registered maximum CME solar wind speeds of almost 1,000 km/sec. These fast CMEs cause interplanetary shocks as they move, greatly increasing the plasma density and the magnetic fields in the solar wind. CME plasma also contains greater amounts of helium than usual. The Helium/Hydrogen ratio is relatively constant at about 0.05 in high speed stream, but in CME plasma, the He/H ratio can be as great as 0.4. NEXT For a more technical description, take a Closer Look at The Structured Sun and Solar Max: At the Core of the Matter.