Monday's solar storm — the most powerful one in more than four years — sent huge waves of radiation and fast-moving particles streaming toward Earth. The sun has stayed active since, with another big flare erupting today (Feb. 18). But while the most intense solar storms can put astronauts at risk, the space station's shielding and Earth's magnetic field generally protect against such events pretty well, experts said.
And the Valentine's Day eruption should actually provide a health benefit for spaceflyers, sweeping away some of the dangerous, ultra-high-energy cosmic rays rocketing in from beyond the solar system.
"It actually makes the crew doses decrease rather than increase," said Frank Cucinotta, chief scientist for NASA's Space Radiation Program at the Johnson Space Center in Houston. "The galactic cosmic rays are a bigger concern to us.
also, check this out "Solar System Explained From the Inside Out"
http://www.space.com/10900-solar-system … aphic.htmlI was going to post it in the thread but it's a very large image.
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