Big Questions for Van Allen Probes Modern society depends
heavily on a variety of technologies that are susceptible to the
extremes of space weather — severe disturbances of the upper
atmosphere and of the near-Earth space environment that are
driven by the magnetic activity of the Sun. Strong electrical
currents driven in the Earth’s surface during auroral events can
disrupt and damage modern electric power grids and may
contribute to the corrosion of oil and gas pipelines. Our planet
is immersed in this seemingly invisible yet exotic and
inherently dangerous environment. Above the protective cocoon of
Earth’s lower atmosphere is a plasma soup composed of
electrified and magnetized matter entwined with penetrating
radiation and energetic particles.