Solar Storm

During a powerful solar storm on Mother’s Day, scientists discovered that a mysterious ionospheric phenomenon, sporadic E layers, became unusually active, especially during the storm’s recovery. These thin, metal-rich patches appeared to ripple from the poles toward the equator, shedding new light on a region of Earth’s atmosphere that has…

A surprise solar storm turned a NASA simulation into a real-world space weather crisis. As the Gannon geomagnetic storm struck Earth, it disrupted satellites, grounded flights, heated the atmosphere to extreme temperatures, and even shook up Mars. Auroras danced in skies far from the poles, satellites scrambled to stay in…

Solar storms batter Earth every year, creating the occasional aurora and sometimes even paralyzing power grids. But these common phenomena pale in comparison to a monstrous event that inundated the planet with particles from the Sun around 14,300 years ago, identified as the strongest solar storm ever recorded in a…

The Sun rarely produced extreme solar particle events, orders of magnitude stronger than everything directly observed. Their enormous power can greatly distort the production of cosmogenic isotopes, e.g., radiocarbon (14C), in the terrestrial system, leaving clear signatures in natural terrestrial archives including dateable tree rings. Eight such events were known…

NASA rover spies the first aurora at Mars that's visible to the human eyeRead More

The northern lights fill the sky with green ribbons of electrical charged particles over the barn and pastures at Greaney's Turkey Farm in Mercer, Maine on May 11, 2024. (Image credit: Michael Seamans/Getty Images) I'll never forget the night of May 10, 2024. I remember having dinner with a friend…

Felicity Bradstock Felicity Bradstock is a freelance writer specialising in Energy and Finance. She has a Master’s in International Development from the University of Birmingham, UK. More Info Premium Content By Felicity Bradstock - May 09, 2025, 11:00 AM CDT Solar storms can disrupt power grids, cause radio blackouts, and…

Artist's illustration of a superstorm erupting from the sun. (Image credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center/Genna Duberstein) A first-of its-kind space weather "tabletop" exercise has revealed major weaknesses in America's preparedness for severe solar storms. In May 2024, participants representing local and national government agencies gathered at the Johns Hopkins…

An image captured by the Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope in Hawaii shows sunspots on the star's surface. VTF/KIS/NSF/NSO/AURA/The National Solar Observatory (NSO) hide caption toggle caption VTF/KIS/NSF/NSO/AURA/The National Solar Observatory (NSO) The most powerful solar telescope in the world has recorded a major milestone atop an active volcano in…

About 41,000 years ago, Homo sapiens may have survived increased solar radiation caused by a weakening magnetic field by using sunscreen-like ochre, tailored clothing, and caves. Neanderthals, lacking these technologies, likely faced greater exposure and disappeared around the same time. Ancient Homo sapiens may have survived a spike in solar…