A recent outburst from the Sun sent a strong blast of charged particles and radiation towards Mars, allowing scientists to get a rare glimpse at how these events unfold on planets other than Earth.
STEVE, a strange ribbon of purple and green haze discovered by citizen scientists in 2016, just got even weirder. While looking through archival data, a team of scientists discovered that the aurora-like phenomenon has a secret twin moving in the opposite direction.
Compasses at the bottom of the ocean wobbled as a massive solar storm hit Earth last week, giving the instruments two miles under the sea a jolt of magnetic shock and awe.
This week, the Gizmodo science team explored the disturbing trend towards raw milk amid a bird flu outbreak among cattle, and the technological disruptions stemming from the historic geomagnetic storm that triggered stunning auroras across much of the globe. Reporter Ed Cara broke down a study weighing the long term…
Conspiracy theorists on social media have been busy at work peddling their latest conclusion: The magnificent auroras seen over swaths of four different continents over the weekend were caused by a University of Alaska program that studies the ionosphere. Which, of course, is pure nonsense.
On Friday, Earth was hit by the strongest geomagnetic storm in 20 years. Intense solar activity sent bursts of radiation toward Earth, causing fluctuations in the upper atmosphere that led to disruptions in the power grid and radio blackouts, among other technologies and infrastructure.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Space Weather Prediction Center forecasted a “severe solar storm” that’s expected to hit Earth tonight, according to a release.
NOAA
Inclement weather on the Sun’s surface could affect infrastructure on Earth and in space, scientists are predicting, as our host star approaches its solar maximum.
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