Russian scientists have created a model that allows them to literally "calculate" space weather — and understand in advance when the solar wind can "hit" satellites, communications and navigation. Dmitry Pavlov, Associate Professor of the Department of Algorithmic Mathematics at St. Petersburg State Electrotechnical University "LETI", revealed the details.
According to him, the development is based on a computer simulation service for the solar wind, built on the principles of magnetic hydrodynamics. The model considers the flow of charged particles in space as a single continuous medium — similar to water.
The scientist explained that the particles of the solar wind, despite the large distance between them, behave collectively. At a distance of approximately 15 million kilometers from the Sun, the chaotic movement of plasma becomes ordered, and it can already be described by equations similar to those used for ordinary liquids.
The model allows you to predict how the solar wind propagates and how it affects near-Earth space.
The calculations cover the space from the Sun to the orbit of Mars. This makes it possible to determine with high accuracy the density and velocity of particles directly at the Earth — indicators that are used to predict geomagnetic storms.
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