solar particle

Solar particles are the particles that make up the solar wind, "normal" ones as well as solar energetic particles (SEPs), which are those with more-than-usual kinetic energy. They are generally charged, electrons or nuclei such as protons or alpha particles, and a relatively small number of larger nuclei may also be included. They flow out from the Sun, their trajectories affected by the Sun's magnetic field as well as those of the planets, the latter deflecting many of them but trap some as radiation belts, such as the Earth's Van Allen belts. Solar activity such as solar flares and coronal mass ejections can produce solar particle events, and when some reach Earth-vicinity (or the vicinity of something else of interest) are known as solar storms, much of what is termed space weather.