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solar wind A stream of charged subatomic particles (mainly protons and electrons) flowing out into space from the sun. This concept has nothing to do with wind as motion of air, it is a wind of nuclear radiation. Peaks in this radiation have significant influence on long distance radio communications and on the display of the aurora on earth. Peaks in the solar wind often follow "storms" in the solar atmosphere. These storms sometimes show up as black "sun spots" on the surface of the sun as seen in the telescope of a sextant.

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