Solar Storm

Home News Science & Astronomy In June 2023, the sun's face has broken out with the highest number of sunspots in more than two decades. (Image credit: NASA/SDO/Met Office) The sun produced over 160 sunspots in June, the highest monthly number in more than two decades. The data confirm that…

Richard Carrington's sketch of a 'monster' sunspot in 1859 imposed onto a real image of the sun taken by NASA's Solar Dynamic Observatory (Image credit: Richard Carrington/ NASA Solar Dynamics Observatory/ SpaceWeather.com) On Sept. 1, 1859, British astronomer Richard Carrington was investigating a strange cluster of dark blobs in the…

Home News Science & Astronomy A vibrant aurora display during a geomagnetic storm. (Image credit: Shutterstock) Earth's thermosphere recently hit a near 20-year temperature peak after soaking up energy from geomagnetic storms that bashed Earth this year. The temperature in the second-highest layer of the atmosphere will likely continue to climb over…

Scientists may have found a way to investigate the curious processes that accelerate solar particles to tremendous speeds. Solar flares and coronal mass ejections (CMEs) — huge eruptions of superheated plasma — are two of the most energetic processes seen in the solar system.  Earth's magnetic field protects us from…

Home News Science & Astronomy A simulation of an enormous solar flare and coronal mass ejection (CME) blasting out of the sun. Such a storm may have contributed to the rise of life on Earth, new research suggests. (Image credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center)Life on Earth could have been…

MARCIA DUNN, AP Aerospace Writer April 24, 2023Updated: April 24, 2023 4:05 p.m. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate 1of12An aurora borealis, also known as the northern lights, is seen in the night sky in the early morning hours of Monday, April 24, 2023, near Washtucna, Wash.…

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There’s enough trouble on this planet already that we don’t need new problems coming here from the sun. Unfortunately, we can’t yet destroy this pitiless star, so we are at its mercy. But NASA at least may soon be able to let us know when one of its murderous flares…

The band of light illuminated the skies above Denmark on March 23. (Image credit: Ruslan Merzlyakov)A bright red streak of light appeared in the sky above parts of Scandinavia last week after a surprise solar storm smashed into Earth and triggered stunning auroras across the planet. But the bright red…

Home News Skywatching Magnificent polar light displays in Ontario, Canada. (Image credit: Yu Ruidong/China News Service/VCG via Getty Images) A surprise solar storm supercharged auroras across the U.S. and Europe last night (March 23), with sightings of the colorful displays reported from as far south as New Mexico and Arizona.…