Screen H — Experimental 10-Day Solar Wind Model (Speed, Density, Pressure)
Summary
This screen shows a computer-made “weather map” of the solar wind around Earth. It uses a physics simulation of the Sun’s outflow to estimate solar wind speed, density, and pressure for about the next 10 days. The yellow circle is Earth.
More detail
What this screen is
Think of this as a solar-wind forecast map. A computer model simulates how the solar wind spreads out from the Sun and flows past Earth. Colors show how the solar wind changes across space — faster/slower, thicker/thinner, and higher/lower pressure.
How the 6 panels are arranged
- Top-left: Solar wind speed viewed from above the Sun’s north pole, looking down at the plane where the planets orbit.
- Top-middle: Solar wind speed in a slice view that cuts through the Sun–Earth line. In this view, Earth’s yellow marker can drift slightly above or below the solar equator.
- Top-right: Solar wind pressure in the same top-down view.
- Bottom-left: Solar wind density in the top-down view.
- Bottom-middle: Solar wind density in the slice view.
- Bottom-right: Solar wind pressure in the slice view.
Extra markings you may notice
- Earth marker: Earth is shown as a yellow circle in every panel.
- Dashed lines: These mark magnetic sector boundaries — places where the large-scale solar magnetic field flips direction in space.
Where the images come from
- A large 3D physics model of the solar wind is run (SWMF / BATS-R-US / AWSoM).
- It uses magnetograms as an input. A magnetogram is a map of the Sun’s surface magnetic field — it shows where the magnetic field points outward versus inward on the solar surface.
- That magnetic map is used as a starting boundary condition so the model can simulate how the solar wind is guided and shaped as it expands into space.
- It is run daily and typically covers a 10-day time window.
How this differs from the WSA/ENLIL solar-wind images (and why it’s useful)
- WSA/ENLIL (prior screen): A widely used forecasting approach that estimates solar wind near the Sun using empirical relationships (WSA), then carries it outward through the solar system (ENLIL).
- SWMF / BATS-R-US / AWSoM (this screen): A more fully physics-based 3D simulation that models the solar wind as a magnetized flowing plasma, using magnetograms as part of the starting conditions.
- Bottom line: This is a complementary way to predict the solar wind environment. Comparing different models can help you judge confidence when they agree, and uncertainty when they disagree.
Important limitation: These are experimental products. The results are not always accurate, and they do not include coronal mass ejections (CMEs). Treat this as helpful context, not a guarantee.