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Read More on Space Weather, Geomagnetic Storms and Hazard

Occasionally, space weather, geomagnetic storms and hazard make it into the news. You will see that some of the terms and concepts described in our glossary are used in these articles.

Space weather and its effect on the Earth's magnetic field and on technology is discussed in more depth at the Geological Survey of Canada, at IPS Australia and at the US Space Weather Prediction Center. There are further links at these sites to many more sites of interest, at varying levels of technicality.

An introduction to the space weather hazard to astronauts is given by the University of Michigan. The rest of us can thank our atmospheric blanket (equivalent to 13 feet of concrete) for shielding us from the high energy radiation in space that astronauts sometimes have to think about.

Finally, one of the better-known space weather effects is the Aurora: the Aurora Borealis in the Northern hemisphere and Aurora Australis in the South. Michigan Tech has a useful collection of links on the subject. Lancaster University runs an 'Aurora Watch' scheme for the UK.