Space is not empty - the Earth bathes in the solar wind (credit: NASA)
Interplanetary Science
Space is not the empty void that it is often assumed to be. The heat produced by the Sun cause the outer layers of its atmosphere to stream outwards through the solar system. This is known as the solar wind. The crucial difference is that, unlike most of the gases that surround us on Earth, the solar wind is made up of plasma, gas that has been split into positive and negative electrically charged particles. As a result, the solar wind is electrically conductive. Although tenuous, the solar wind sweeps remnants of the Sun’s massive magnetic field outward through interplanetary space, extending the reach of our star throughout the solar system. Interplanetary space is also the realm of meteoroids, asteroids and comets, the 'wanderers' of the solar system.
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