Royal Belgian Institute for Space AeronomyPhysics and chemistry of the atmosphere of the Earth and other planets, and of outer space.
Solar radiation
The way moon dust is formed is very different from that on Earth. The (atmosphere-free) environment also causes moon dust to behave differently.
The way dust moves and looks varies depending on the location on the moon and the position of the sun.
A major environmental hazard on the moon is dust. Charged dust particles pose a serious risk to the health of astronauts and to space instruments.
When energetic particles from the Sun disrupt the normal flux of the solar wind and threaten space missions.
Sunspots look darker because they are cooler and appear according to a periodic variation of about 11 years.
Nuclear fusion reactions in the Sun transform hydrogen into helium releasing large amounts of energy.
The region of our galaxy, the Milky Way, in which matter comes mainly from the Sun.
1992 mission with experiments for understanding the interaction between the sun and the Earth's atmosphere. Belgian astronaut Dirk Frimout flew along.
For most measurements of atmospheric ingredients, the same technique is used: the DOAS method.
For planet Earth this is the rotational period relative to so called fixed stars and not to the Sun.
Atmospheres of planets glow constantly during both day and night as sunlight interacts with atoms and molecules.
Which phenomenon causes the sky on our planet to turn blue? And why at sunset red or orange?
Venus' atmospheric composition in percentages show 96,5% of carbon dioxide and less than 3,5% of N2.
Prolonged exposure to ultraviolet radiation can cause significant damage to living organisms: sunburn, eye cataracts, accelerated skin aging, skin cancer,...
Ultraviolet rays (UV) are energetic but invisible. Although Earth's atmosphere is acting as a protector shield against the major part of the harmful UV, the dangerous UV-B reaches the surface.
Transitional zone between space and the completely different atmospheric layers closer to the ground at altitudes between 50 and 90 kilometers. Temperature may decrease as low as 100 K (-173°C).
From ground to space each layer is characterized by specific temperatures: troposphere, stratosphere, mesosphere, thermosphere and exosphere
Gases in Earth’s atmosphere (like nitrogen, oxygen and ozone) filter out harmful UV radiation.
A multidisciplinary science based on observations of the atmospherical environment (terrestrial and extraterrestrial).
One speaks of fast solar wind with speeds of 800km/s and slow slower wind with speeds of around 400km/s.
The Sun continuously emits radiation. Energy escapes from the Sun at the speed of light in the form of a wave. There are several types of radiation.
The solar wind is a plasma, a stream of charged particles (ions and electrons) which are continuously escaping from the Sun into the interplanetary medium.