SOLAR WIND

I didn't understand any differences that existed between solar wind, coronal mass ejections, and solar flares.  I knew that we sucked whatever the sun threw at us into our polar flush.  They all cause auroral activity by throwing plasma at us, but the events themselves are very different.

According to NASA, the solar wind is CONTINUOUS.  "The solar wind is a non-stop gale of plasma, mainly protons and electrons, which originates in the sun's searingly hot lower atmosphere.  It blasts outward in all directions at an average speed of about 250 miles per second." [5] Since the earth is 92,960,000 miles from the sun, that means that the solar wind gets here in (92960000/250)*(1/3600)*(1/24)=4.3 days.   Sources of the solar wind include high-speed coronal holes and low-speed helmet streamers, both the result of magnetic activity (see image at right).  [6]

The solar wind is described as the norm, reliable, with varied amounts of plasmic flotsam and jetsam depending upon solar activity.   Scientists have even proposed satellites like the Dyson-Harrop to harvest its energy and beam it to earth. [7]  However, the solar wind (SWOOPS) study from the Ulysses mission showed that the solar wind was at a 50-year low in 2008; the mission ended and I couldn't find comparable recent data analyses of solar wind power to see if it was still a concern through the recent solar maximum. [8]