A dose of some real scientists doing real science.

[rah]

Important stuff. The magnetic fields from the earth and sun and how they react. The Heliosphere of the earth protects us from the high energy particles coming from the sun. The Solar Heliosphere extends out well beyond the outer minor planets of our solar system and protects life on earth from high energy particles we call "cosmic rays" coming from outside our solar system. Where once we were taught our solar system was defined by the physical bodies such as planets and asteroids and comets which orbit the sun our solar system is now defined by the limits of the solar heliosphere. It is critical to understand how these Heliospheres work and interact in order to understand how they effect the habitability of our planet and all others for life as we know it and what dangers astronauts will face as they travel beyond the influence of our planets heliosphere:

Magnetic Reconnection – Major space weather effect measured for the first time