Space weather

A Monster Solar Storm Could Cost the US $40 Billion Daily

Our planet is due to be hit with a powerful solar storm, an event that happens about once every hundred years. New research shows that losses from the ensuing blackouts could total $41.5 billion per day in the US alone, including nearly $7 billion lost in trade. A study published in Space Weather shows that…

Space & Spaceflight George Dvorsky Jan 19

It Rains Rubies and Sapphires on This Distant Jupiter-Like Planet

A Jupiter-like planet located 1,000 light-years from Earth is exhibiting some rather strange meteorological behavior. The clouds on this planet appear to be made from corundum—the same mineral that produces rubies and sapphires. Using the Kepler space telescope, astronomers from Warwick University have detected individual weather patterns on HAT-P-7b, a hot Jupiter that’s about 16…

Space & Spaceflight George Dvorsky Dec 13

We’ve Never Seen The Solar Wind Like This Before

Like an endless blaze roaring forth from the gates of hell, the solar wind is majestic, awe inspiring, and terrifying. The only proof you need that the Sun is the one and true master of our solar system is this never-before-seen view of a torrent of charged particles bursting out of our star’s corona. It’s…

Space & Spaceflight Maddie Stone Sep 2

A Solar Flare Almost Sparked a Nuclear War in 1967

On May 23rd, 1967, the United States Air Force scrambled to ready nuclear missile-laden aircraft for deployment. Radar systems designed to detect incoming Soviet missiles had just been disrupted, in what the military perceived to be an act of war. But before any nukes were launched in retaliation, it seems Air Force command was told…

Space & Spaceflight Maddie Stone Aug 9

Jupiter’s Northern Lights Look Absolutely Incredible

If you want to see beautiful auroras, forget Alaska, Canada, and Iceland—check out Jupiter. At the gas giant’s north pole, the most powerful and luminous northern lights in the solar system shimmer and glow in an endless geomagnetic storm that’s larger than our entire planet. Jupiter’s glorious auroras—caused by the gas giant’s enormous magnetic field…

Space & Spaceflight Maddie Stone Jun 30

Astronomers Might Have Just Solved a Key Mystery About the Origin of Life

If a massive solar storm struck the Earth today, it could wipe out our technology and hurl us back to the dark ages. Lucky for us, events like this are quite rare. But four billion years ago, extreme space weather was probably the norm. And rather than bringing the apocalypse, it might have kickstarted life.…

Space & Spaceflight Maddie Stone May 23

A Major Mystery About Earth’s Magnetic Field Has Just Been Solved

For the first time, physicists have observed a mysterious process called magnetic reconnection—wherein opposing magnetic field lines join up, releasing a tremendous burst of energy. The discovery, published today in Science, may help us unlock the secrets of space weather and learn about some of the weirdest, most magnetic objects in the universe. The magnetosphere,…

Space & Spaceflight Maddie Stone May 12

This Model of the Sun’s Magnetic Field Is Beautiful Insanity

A team of scientists has created a new, high-resolution model of the complex magnetic activity on the surface of the Sun. The result is as spellbinding as it is terrifying. Gaze into the roiling ball of plasma that supports everything you hold dear, and feel your sanity slip away. Astronomers have long known that there’s…

Space & Spaceflight Maddie Stone Mar 25

Something Weird and Amazing Is Happening at Jupiter’s North Pole

If you were soaring through Jupiter’s turbid skies wearing a pair of x-ray goggles, you might get lucky and witness something incredible. Brilliant flashes of light, more luminous and powerful than the Sun, occurring every 26 minutes and stretching as far as the eye can see. That’s the essence of a massive solar storm recently…

Space & Spaceflight Maddie Stone Mar 22

This Is the Space Weather New Horizons Had to Fly Through to Get To Pluto—And It’s Very Strange

New Horizons returned some amazingly detailed shots and data of Pluto over the course of its mission—but just what did it have to fly through to get there? So, so much. NASA put together this visualization of what the spacecraft encountered between January and August on its way to Pluto. The list includes a series…

Space & Spaceflight Ria Misra Dec 8

First Interstellar Weather Forecast: Gusty as Hell

Astronomers have measured and mapped a weather system on a planet outside our solar system for the first time, and I’m sad to report that interstellar camping trips maaaay not be so much fun after all. On planet HD 189733b, at least, the winds are blowing at a breathtaking 5,400 miles per hour. That’s the…

Tech News Maddie Stone Nov 13

The Nights Are Filled With Glorious Auroras This Week

The aurora borealis is one of the most stunning light shows on Earth, but normally, it’s a treat reserved for the hardy souls living at the coldest edges of the world. The last few nights, however, people across the Northern and Southern hemispheres have enjoyed dazzling, colorful skies, thanks to a geomagnetic storm that began…

Tech News Maddie Stone Nov 4

The US is Finally Heeding Warnings About a Monster Solar Storm

We’re all too familiar with the dangers posed by earthquakes, droughts, and hurricanes. But there’s another natural phenomena that represents a growing threat to our tech-driven society, and that’s space weather. And at long last, the US government seems to be taking the issue seriously. Space weather scientists at the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration and…

Tech News Maddie Stone Oct 30

Meet the Preppers Who Are Ready for the Next Massive Solar Storm

Hurricanes and blizzards are petty trifles compared with the weather phenomenon that troubles apocalypse preppers: They’re worried about a giant electromagnetic storm wiping out all technology. It’s an unlikely scenario — a massive solar storm strikes only about once every 500 years — but if the Earth was hit by one, power grids across the…

Tech News Maddie Stone Sep 15

What Would Happen If a Massive Solar Storm Hit Earth?

A severe solar storm hasn’t hit Earth since the mid-19th century, but space weather scientists are very worried about the next one.

Space & Spaceflight Maddie Stone Aug 20

This Is How the Curiosity Rover Sees the Sun from Mars

Curiosity, our favorite little Martian space robot that could, has a new line item to add to its resume: weather-robot. With NASA’s STEREO-A spacecraft (which usually monitors solar flares) currently out of range, researchers got to wondering just what Curiosity might be able to tell us about the sun from its vantage point on Mars.…

io9 Ria Misra Jul 11

Citizen Scientists Are Helping Map the Aurora Like Never Before

The aurora borealis that took place on St. Patrick’s day was spectacular, but aside from being the strongest geomagnetic storm in a decade, there’s another reason it was special. It was the first time that thousands of citizen scientists tweeted about the aurora to help space weather scientists construct a detailed global map of the…

Tech News Maddie Stone Mar 29

These Giant Solar Flares Erupted From The Sun This Morning

This morning, astronomers observed an incredibly powerful x-class solar flare erupting from the sun, only to be surprised by what they saw happen just about an hour later: a second x-class flare. Image: The first solar flare (left) and the second (right) / NASA – SDO Just what do two of the most intense class…

io9 Ria Misra Jun 10

Visions of an Erupting Sun

A Solar Dynamics Observatory video of the recent flare is a deceptively-tranquil vision of colossal energy eruption. A massive X1.4 flare is part of the highest intensity of flares releasing huge amounts of energy, yet the filaments are weirdly soothing. X1.4 flare in 131, 304, and 171 angstrom wavelengths. Image Credit: NASA/SDO/Goddard Space Flight Center…

Tech News Mika McKinnon May 8

A Solar Flare in Unprecedented Detail

On March 29th, the sun released an X-class flare. It was caught by five high-quality solar observatories on the ground and in space, creating the most detailed observations of an intense flare in history. This beautiful, rich data will help researchers better understand what triggers flares. Composite of data sources capturing the flare: SDO [bottom/left],…

Tech News Mika McKinnon May 7

A Monster Solar Storm Could Cost the US $40 Billion Daily

It Rains Rubies and Sapphires on This Distant Jupiter-Like Planet

We’ve Never Seen The Solar Wind Like This Before

A Solar Flare Almost Sparked a Nuclear War in 1967

Jupiter’s Northern Lights Look Absolutely Incredible

Astronomers Might Have Just Solved a Key Mystery About the Origin of Life

A Major Mystery About Earth’s Magnetic Field Has Just Been Solved

This Model of the Sun’s Magnetic Field Is Beautiful Insanity

Something Weird and Amazing Is Happening at Jupiter’s North Pole

This Is the Space Weather New Horizons Had to Fly Through to Get To Pluto—And It’s Very Strange

First Interstellar Weather Forecast: Gusty as Hell

The Nights Are Filled With Glorious Auroras This Week

The US is Finally Heeding Warnings About a Monster Solar Storm

Meet the Preppers Who Are Ready for the Next Massive Solar Storm

What Would Happen If a Massive Solar Storm Hit Earth?

This Is How the Curiosity Rover Sees the Sun from Mars

Citizen Scientists Are Helping Map the Aurora Like Never Before

These Giant Solar Flares Erupted From The Sun This Morning

Visions of an Erupting Sun

A Solar Flare in Unprecedented Detail

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