Space Weather: Reliable Predictions Thanks to Research in Graz

Using analysed data from solar events - here a solar flare from March 2015 - researchers from Graz want to develop prediction models for space weather forecasts. Photo: NASA/SDO, © IFG- TU Graz By Christoph Pelzl - The influence of solar events on satellite-based applications such as orbit determination, telecommunications or navigation is being investigated by two research projects with the participation of TU Graz. Solar storms and similar events can cause sustainable damages to electronic systems on Earth, as well as on satellites. The sun ejects huge clouds of charged plasma particles that massively disturb the Earth's magnetic field. "The ejected plasma consists mainly of electrons and protons and increases the neutral density in the Earth's atmosphere," explains Graz University of Technology (TU Graz) researcher Sandro Krauss from the Institute of Geodesy. Communication signals from satellites can be delayed and result in incorrect position determination. Furthermore, the charged plasma particles can heat up the upper layers of the Earth's atmosphere so that it expands, the atmospheric drag increases and satellites lose speed and altitude.