Space Umbrella

A stream of charged particles called the solar wind flows from the Sun toward Earth. Long before it reaches Earth, it meets the Earth’s magnetic fields that shield our planet like a giant umbrella. Powerful space physics phenomena unfold where the solar wind meets this umbrella, spawning beautiful auroras, and also releasing energy that can disrupt GPS and communications systems and endanger astronauts.

The Space Umbrella project needs your help classifying data from this dynamic region, where NASA’s Magnetosphere Multiscale (MMS) Mission has been collecting data since 2015. With the Space Umbrella project, you will help identify when the MMS spacecraft observed the most energetic interactions between the magnetosphere and the solar wind. You can help build the biggest ever collection or catalog of times when charged particles from the Sun interacted strongly with the Earth’s magnetic field, supercharging human understanding of solar wind.

What you’ll do:

• Examine real data from NASA’s Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) mission.
• Learn how to spot data collected when the satellite was inside Earth’s magnetic field and when the magnetosphere is interacting with the Sun’s particles.
• Help scientists better understand solar storms so they can keep our astronauts and technology safe.