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Space Weather

All articles tagged with #space weather

Aurora could light up the sky during the Aug. 27–28 lunar eclipse across North America
space2 days ago

Aurora could light up the sky during the Aug. 27–28 lunar eclipse across North America

A rare red aurora may accompany tomorrow night’s blood-red partial lunar eclipse as NOAA forecasts moderate geomagnetic storms (G1–G2) from 5 p.m. to 11 p.m. EDT, potentially making the northern lights visible from parts of the northern U.S. and Canada, with Canada and Alaska offering the best odds. The coppery-red moon will also be visible in dark skies, though sky-overlap between the two phenomena is unlikely; high-altitude red auroras are possible during stronger solar wind. This follows a recent M-class solar flare and coronal mass ejection. The eclipse begins around 9:23 p.m. EDT, peaks near midnight, and ends around 3 a.m. EDT, providing observers with a rare celestial double feature.

Earth-facing M6.9 flare could spark northern lights this week
science3 days ago

Earth-facing M6.9 flare could spark northern lights this week

A restless Sun erupted an Earth-facing M6.9 flare from sunspot AR4513 on Aug. 25, launching a coronal mass ejection (CME) that may graze Earth later this week. Early NASA models suggest a glancing CME arrival around Aug. 28, which could boost geomagnetic activity if it interacts with a high‑speed solar wind stream from a coronal hole; the actual impact depends on arrival timing and the magnetic orientation of the CME. Forecasters will monitor updates, as a strong southward field could enhance northern lights activity.

Seventeen-Spacecraft Observation Reveals Two-Part Solar Eruption
space5 days ago

Seventeen-Spacecraft Observation Reveals Two-Part Solar Eruption

A December 2024 coronal mass ejection was tracked by a record 17 spacecraft spread across the solar system, showing the eruption consisted of two asymmetric lobes traveling at different speeds rather than a single front. This wide, off-axis coverage allowed scientists to reconstruct the CME’s two-dimensional shape and evolution, improving forecasts of how such solar storms propagate and boosting warning time for future crewed missions beyond Earth. Observations came from missions including SOHO, SDO, STEREO-A, MMS, ARTEMIS, Wind, ACE, GOES, DSCOVR, BepiColombo, MAVEN, Solar Orbiter, Europa Clipper, and others; the findings were published in Science Advances.

Sun's Magnetic Field Wobbles in Midlife, Puzzles Scientists
science8 days ago

Sun's Magnetic Field Wobbles in Midlife, Puzzles Scientists

New observations and simulations suggest that sun‑like stars, including our Sun, undergo a magnetic‑crisis in mid‑life: their global magnetic field weakens as dynamos slow and may shift from complex to simpler configurations before possibly reviving later. This impacts how stars spin, the space weather they produce, and the habitability of surrounding planets; researchers debate whether the field is truly collapsing or entering a temporary minimum, with implications for interpreting exoplanet biosignatures as NASA's Habitable Worlds Observatory searches for life‑bearing worlds.

Two-Minute Eclipse Window Could Reveal the Sun's Magnetic Secrets
astronomy-and-space17 days ago

Two-Minute Eclipse Window Could Reveal the Sun's Magnetic Secrets

During the 12 August total solar eclipse over Greenland, researchers will have about two minutes at observing sites in Spain and Iceland to study the corona with spectrometers and high‑resolution cameras, aiming to answer why the corona is millions of degrees hotter than the Sun's surface and how magnetic energy heats it, with the goal of improving space‑weather forecasts ahead of the 2027 eclipse.

Sun-sparked currents and a dawn-dark sky: the 1859 Carrington Event
science18 days ago

Sun-sparked currents and a dawn-dark sky: the 1859 Carrington Event

The Carrington Event of 1859 unleashed a solar storm that drove geomagnetic currents along long telegraph lines, causing outages and fires while auroras lit skies as far apart as Cuba and Hawaii, demonstrating the vulnerability of modern infrastructure to space weather and spurring ongoing research into forecasting and mitigation for the electric grid.

Auroras During the Aug. 12 Eclipse: Possible, but Extremely Rare
space18 days ago

Auroras During the Aug. 12 Eclipse: Possible, but Extremely Rare

Experts say it’s physically possible to see the northern lights during the Aug. 12, 2026 total solar eclipse, but the odds are very low. A strong geomagnetic storm (G4–G5) would need to align with the eclipse so daytime auroral activity appears in the sky near totality, and even then the sun’s corona during totality would typically outshine auroras near the Sun. Greenland or Iceland offer the best near-eclipse viewing, but overall it remains a rare coincidence; a pre-eclipse CME or the Perseid meteor shower could raise the odds, but expect it to be a rare sight if space weather cooperates at all.

Earth-facing CME looms as Sun sparks auroras and Comet McNaught brightens the sky
space-weather19 days ago

Earth-facing CME looms as Sun sparks auroras and Comet McNaught brightens the sky

SpaceWeather.com reports an Earth-directed CME from two solar filament eruptions with an ETA around Aug 11–12, potentially triggering auroras near the Perseid meteor shower, while a moderate G2 geomagnetic storm is already in progress as Earth sits in the CME wake. Separately, Comet 220P/McNaught underwent dramatic outbursts, brightening to binocular visibility with observers noting a shock-wave-like debris shell; the page also features aurora imagery and various sky-watching updates.

NASA’s sky-high eclipse mission reveals the Sun’s hidden fireworks
science19 days ago

NASA’s sky-high eclipse mission reveals the Sun’s hidden fireworks

NASA will fly a WB-57 research plane at about 50,000 feet off Iceland to chase a total solar eclipse, using high-speed cameras to capture the Sun’s corona—prominences and nanoflares—in order to extend totality for nearly three minutes and gather data that improves understanding of solar physics and space weather, a method favored over ground- or space-based observations for its data richness despite harsh conditions, building on a long history of eclipse missions.

Sun Reveals Magnetic Whirlpools in Ultra-Clear Solar Images
science20 days ago

Sun Reveals Magnetic Whirlpools in Ultra-Clear Solar Images

Ultra-detailed images from the Inouye Solar Telescope show Kelvin-Helmholtz swirl patterns in the Sun’s magnetic field, with vortices about 50–65 kilometers apart. These twisting motions transfer and concentrate magnetic energy, potentially fueling solar eruptions such as flares and coronal mass ejections, which can affect space weather and threaten power grids and satellites.

Voyager 2’s Uranus Flyby: A Rare 4% Moment That Shaped Planetary Science
space20 days ago

Voyager 2’s Uranus Flyby: A Rare 4% Moment That Shaped Planetary Science

A 2024 reanalysis argues Voyager 2’s 1986 Uranus flyby occurred during an exceptionally compressed solar wind—an event estimated to happen only about 4% of the time—reframing the encounter as a rare snapshot that may explain Uranus’s unusual magnetosphere and radiation belts, and underscoring the need for multi-year orbital observations rather than a single flyby.

PUNCH Mission Pinpoints Solar Storm Arrivals to 30-Minute Margin
science23 days ago

PUNCH Mission Pinpoints Solar Storm Arrivals to 30-Minute Margin

NASA's Polarimeter to Unify the Corona and Heliosphere (PUNCH) constellation has demonstrated the ability to forecast Earth-arriving solar storms within about 30 minutes by analyzing a May 31, 2025 CME event with a model that uses CME edges, speed, and shape; PUNCH images CMEs every four minutes, tracking them from the Sun to Earth and markedly improving on the previous ~5-hour error. This initial proof of concept suggests further improvements could extend lead times, helping mitigate impacts on satellites, power grids, and communications.

Sun Surface Reveals Ubiquitous Whirlpools in New High-Res Images
science23 days ago

Sun Surface Reveals Ubiquitous Whirlpools in New High-Res Images

High-resolution images from the NSF’s Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope show Kelvin-Helmholtz instabilities across the Sun’s magnetic boundaries, revealing ubiquitous small-scale whirlpools that may help mix plasma and magnetic fields, influence energy transport, and contribute to understanding space weather; findings published in Nature.

Sun's surface revealed in ultra-high-resolution images
science23 days ago

Sun's surface revealed in ultra-high-resolution images

Scientists using Hawaii's Inouye Solar Telescope captured the Sun's surface in the highest-resolution images yet, showing swirling vortices that twist magnetic energy and drive space weather that can affect Earth’s power grids and satellites; the observations, published in Nature, help explain energy transport in the Sun and could improve weather forecasting.

Earthward CME from M1.9 flare prompts August 2 geomagnetic watch
space-weather28 days ago

Earthward CME from M1.9 flare prompts August 2 geomagnetic watch

A long-duration M1.9 solar flare from Active Region 4492 on July 30, with an associated filament eruption, produced an Earth-directed partial-halo CME and a minor solar radiation storm. WSA-Enlil model runs place the CME’s arrival at Earth around August 2, with NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center forecasting G1–G2 (Minor–Moderate) geomagnetic storm conditions. Solar wind parameters have been mostly nominal, but disturbances from July 26–27 CMEs and the July 30 CME could arrive; increased drag, potential voltage alarms on power systems, spacecraft orientation corrections, and radio fade are possible, with auroras potentially visible as far south as New York and Idaho under favorable conditions.