You might not have noticed, but you make use of the ionosphere anytime you listen to an AM radio broadcast. AM radio signals are able to bounce off of the ionosphere, which allows them to travel longer distances than they would by “line of sight”. The effect is more noticeable on Earth’s night side, where the reflective layer of the ionosphere is higher. For this reason, AM radio stations usually reduce their output power at night, but occasionally you might be able to hear a station far beyond your normal broadcast area. Space storms can drastically affect the ionosphere, filling it with a million amps of electrical current that can be suddenly discharged, and reducing the quality of radio broadcasts and global positioning system accuracy.