Solar Storm

Fujiwara no Teika (Sadaie) was an influential poet and courtier who documented the events of his life in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries in Japan. It is in one of his diaries, Meigetsuki, that he recorded an extraordinary event that took place in 1204 C.E.: for three days straight, Kyoto’s…

Scientists outline how a once-in-a-century solar storm could disrupt the technology modern society depends on. (Image credit: Created in Canva Pro) For many of us, checking the weather is part of daily life. But, in an increasingly technology-dependent world, there is another kind of forecast we can't afford to ignore:…

In October 1989, a blast from the sun flung out a stream of super-powered protons. This solar storm lasted for days and forced astronauts working in low-Earth orbit, aboard NASA’s Atlantis space shuttle, to retreat to a shielded storm shelter in the farthest interior of the craft. Even while hunkered…

As the four Artemis II astronauts prepare for their historic flyby of the moon on Monday, Roberta Bondar, Canada’s first female astronaut, says this mission signals a leap in developments for future space travel. Speaking with Global News, Bondar said the mission will push humans farther into deep space than…

Every mission to deep space is fraught with danger. A hardware failure during launch, an equipment malfunction far from Earth, or a small space rock hitting the vehicle are all scenarios astronauts will train for. As humans set off on the Artemis II mission, visiting the Moon for the first…

NASA's Orion capsule cruises through deep space beyond the moon on the uncrewed Artemis 1 mission in late 2022. (Image credit: NASA) Once the Artemis 2 astronauts get beyond the protective environment of Earth's atmosphere and magnetic field, they will be subject to space radiation. While en route to and…

The hazards that the Artemis II crew must navigate during their 10-day flight are plentiful, starting from the second they launch aboard the most powerful rocket to ever carry humans and continuing all the way through their return to Earth nestled inside the Orion capsule. Many threats the crew will…

What happens when a solar superstorm hits Mars? Thanks to the European Space Agency's Mars orbiters, we now know: glitching spacecraft and a supercharged upper atmosphere. In May 2024, Earth was hit by the biggest solar storm recorded in over 20 years . It sent our planet's atmosphere into overdrive,…

Scientists at Kyoto University have developed a theoretical model examining whether disturbances in the ionosphere could apply electrostatic forces deep within the Earth's crust. Under certain conditions, these forces might contribute to the start of large earthquakes. The research is not designed to forecast earthquakes. Instead, it outlines a possible…

NASA Science Editorial Team Feb 19, 2026 A stream of charged particles known as the solar wind flows from the Sun toward Earth. Here, it meets the Earth’s magnetic fields, which shield our planet like a giant umbrella. The Space Umbrella project needs your help investigating this dynamic region, where…