{
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"title": "Fast and Slow Solar Wind",
"description": "These animations show how Earth’s magnetosphere responds as it encounters the slow and fast solar wind.The solar wind is a plasma made of ions and electrons that have escaped the Sun. The solar wind streams outwards in all directions, filling the spaces between the planets and carrying with it the Sun’s magnetic field. When the solar wind reaches Earth’s magnetosphere, the region of space surrounding our planet where Earth’s magnetic field is dominant, the magnetosphere can respond differently depending on the speed of the solar wind, as demonstrated here. || ",
"release_date": "2021-09-28T00:00:00-04:00",
"update_date": "2021-09-21T23:00:13.808436-04:00",
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"alt_text": "This artist’s concept shows a representative state of Earth’s magnetosphere immersed in the so-called “slow” solar wind, which averages between about 180 - 300 miles per second (approx. 300 - 500 kilometers per second). The slow solar wind originates from coronal streamers and other solar features most commonly found around the Sun’s equator, which make the slow solar wind the typical state of the solar wind along the equatorial plane in which the planets orbit.",
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"description": "These animations show how Earth’s magnetosphere responds as it encounters the slow and fast solar wind.\r
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"description": "This artist’s concept shows a representative state of Earth’s magnetosphere immersed in the so-called “slow” solar wind, which averages between about 180 - 300 miles per second (approx. 300 - 500 kilometers per second). The slow solar wind originates from coronal streamers and other solar features most commonly found around the Sun’s equator, which make the slow solar wind the typical state of the solar wind along the equatorial plane in which the planets orbit.",
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"description": "This artist’s concept shows Earth’s magnetosphere immersed in the so-called “fast” solar wind, which averages between about 300 - 500 miles per second (approx. 500 - 800 kilometers per second). The fast solar wind originates from coronal holes: darker, lower density patches of the Sun’s atmosphere where the Sun’s magnetic field lines connect to interplanetary space, allowing solar material to escape out in a high-speed stream. Coronal holes are more common closer to the Sun’s poles but can occasionally appear on any area of the Sun. When a fast stream of solar wind reaches Earth, it can compress Earth’s magnetosphere like a windsock blowing in the wind.",
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"alt_text": "This artist’s concept shows Earth’s magnetosphere immersed in the so-called “fast” solar wind, which averages between about 300 - 500 miles per second (approx. 500 - 800 kilometers per second). The fast solar wind originates from coronal holes: darker, lower density patches of the Sun’s atmosphere where the Sun’s magnetic field lines connect to interplanetary space, allowing solar material to escape out in a high-speed stream. Coronal holes are more common closer to the Sun’s poles but can occasionally appear on any area of the Sun. When a fast stream of solar wind reaches Earth, it can compress Earth’s magnetosphere like a windsock blowing in the wind.",
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"alt_text": "This artist’s concept shows Earth’s magnetosphere immersed in the so-called “fast” solar wind, which averages between about 300 - 500 miles per second (approx. 500 - 800 kilometers per second). The fast solar wind originates from coronal holes: darker, lower density patches of the Sun’s atmosphere where the Sun’s magnetic field lines connect to interplanetary space, allowing solar material to escape out in a high-speed stream. Coronal holes are more common closer to the Sun’s poles but can occasionally appear on any area of the Sun. When a fast stream of solar wind reaches Earth, it can compress Earth’s magnetosphere like a windsock blowing in the wind.",
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"alt_text": "This artist’s concept shows Earth’s magnetosphere immersed in the so-called “fast” solar wind, which averages between about 300 - 500 miles per second (approx. 500 - 800 kilometers per second). The fast solar wind originates from coronal holes: darker, lower density patches of the Sun’s atmosphere where the Sun’s magnetic field lines connect to interplanetary space, allowing solar material to escape out in a high-speed stream. Coronal holes are more common closer to the Sun’s poles but can occasionally appear on any area of the Sun. When a fast stream of solar wind reaches Earth, it can compress Earth’s magnetosphere like a windsock blowing in the wind.",
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"studio": "cil",
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],
"credits": [
{
"role": "Animator",
"people": [
{
"name": "Bailee DesRocher",
"employer": "USRA"
}
]
},
{
"role": "Producer",
"people": [
{
"name": "Miles S. Hatfield",
"employer": "Telophase"
}
]
}
],
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"nasa_science_categories": [
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"keywords": [
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"related": [
{
"id": 14892,
"url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/14892/",
"page_type": "Produced Video",
"title": "Solar Wind Animations",
"description": "The Sun releases a constant stream of charged particles, called the solar wind. The solar wind originates in the outermost layer of the Sun’s atmosphere, the corona, when plasma is heated to a point that the Sun’s gravity can’t hold it down. When this plasma escapes – often reaching speeds of over one million miles per hour – it drags the Sun’s magnetic out across the solar system. When the solar wind encounters Earth, it is deflected by our planet's magnetic shield, causing most of the solar wind's energetic particles to flow around and beyond us. However, some of these high-energy particles can sneak past Earth’s natural magnetic defenses and produce hazardous conditions for satellites and astronauts, as well as power grids and infrastructure on Earth.Learn more about the solar wind: https://science.nasa.gov/sun/what-is-the-solar-wind/ || ",
"release_date": "2025-08-29T16:00:00-04:00",
"update_date": "2025-08-29T12:37:20.328315-04:00",
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"id": 1158038,
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"filename": "14892_009_PSP_EarthSunHelioPause_4K_ProRes.00001_print.jpg",
"media_type": "Image",
"alt_text": "Conceptual AnimationArtist interpretation of flying by the Earth, Sun and Heliopause.Credit: NASA Goddard/CILJonathan North",
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{
"id": 20297,
"url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/20297/",
"page_type": "Animation",
"title": "Magnetospheres of our Solar System",
"description": "A magnetosphere is the magnetic field shields a planet against the Sun's dangerous radiation. Not all magnetospheres are alike. This animation depicts the unique magnetospheres around Earth, Mars, and Jupiter. To demonstrate their strength, each planet's magnetosphere receives a direct hit from a coronal mass ejection (CME) - a cloud of dense radiation and magnetic field from the Sun. The impact of the CME on the planet depends on the strength of the magnetosphere. On Mars, the magnetosphere is weak and patchy, resulting in some loss of the planet's atmosphere. At Earth, the magnetosphere acts as a buffer, deforming from the impact, but protecting the planet. For Jupiter, the punch of the CME is barely felt by the massive magnetic field. || ",
"release_date": "2019-09-16T00:00:00-04:00",
"update_date": "2023-05-03T13:45:38.848251-04:00",
"main_image": {
"id": 392915,
"url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a020000/a020200/a020297/H_0219_VC_Animation_Full.00600_print.jpg",
"filename": "H_0219_VC_Animation_Full.00600_print.jpg",
"media_type": "Image",
"alt_text": "Animation of a coronal mass ejection impacting Mars, Earth, and Jupiter. Credit: NASA GSFC/CIL/Bailee DesRocher",
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}
}
]
}