WSA-Enlil

WSA-Enlil is a research tool used in space weather prediction. It's a software model of the inner Solar System that can be used to analyze data from the Sun and predict solar wind conditions for the next two weeks. It's an important tool for warning us about upcoming geomagnetic storms.

The full name of the tool is Wang-Sheeley-Arge (WSA)-Enlil. "Wang-Sheeley-Arge (WSA)" refers to the surnames of the original developers[1]. "Enlil" is the name of a Mesopotamian god associated with atmosphere and storms.

A visual example of the WSA-Enlil model is pictured here, showing how solar wind spreads out from the Sun. In each circle the Sun is in the middle, Earth is to the right of the Sun, other dots are satellites, and the swirling pattern is the solar wind.

This type of image, with many variations, is very common in space weather monitoring. The pictured version is published by the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Other versions can be found at NASA and just about every space weather website.

Example of a WSA-Enlil solar wind forecast

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External Links

Footnotes & References

1. https://hgss.copernicus.org/articles/8/21/2017/ Origin of the Wang–Sheeley–Arge solar wind model

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