Discover the meaning of the most fascinating space weather terms. Click on each image to see its corresponding video.
According to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA, n.d.), space weather is the activity generated by the sun that affects Earth and the rest of the solar system.
According to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA, n.d.), a satellite is an object that orbits another object. It can be natural, like the moon, or artificial.
In relation to what was stated by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA, 2025), it is stated that a solar storm is a sudden release of particles, energy, and magnetic fields from the sun into space.
According to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA, 2025), a sunspot is the darkest and coldest area of the sun, formed by concentrations of intense magnetic fields.
According to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA, March 10, 2025), a solar flare is a sudden burst of light and radiation on the sun's surface.
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA, n.d.) defines it as the curved path that a planet or satellite follows around a body.
According to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA, 2024), it is a giant bubble that surrounds the sun and planets, and is formed by the solar wind, extending beyond the orbit of Pluto.
For the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA, n.d.), it is the release of energy or particles from radioactive materials, explosions, or chemical processes.
According to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA, 2025), it is a large cloud of plasma ejected by the sun and capable of throwing billions of tons of material into space in a single shot.
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) (n.d.) calls the luminous effects that appear as flashes in the night sky in the polar regions auroras. They are known as boreal if they are in the northern hemisphere, and austral if they are in the southern hemisphere.
According to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA, n.d.), the atmosphere refers to the gases trapped around Earth or other planets due to gravity.