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A massive solar storm is heading toward Earth, threatening to disrupt communications, navigation systems, and power grids around the world. NASA issued the warning after a powerful burst of energy from the sun last week, which measured as an X2.7-class solar flare, the highest category for solar flares. Solar flares are intense bursts of radiation that come from sunspots — darker, cooler areas on the sun's surface — and are among the most powerful explosions in the solar system. These flares can last from a few minutes to several hours.

Approximately 14,000 years ago, the unprecedented solar event—now judged to be the most powerful known to have occurred—marked Earth’s transition into the Holocene epoch, according to the findings of an international team of scientists. The team traces the event to around 12,350 BC using a new climate-chemistry model specifically designed to reconstruct ancient solar particle activity. This expands the known timeline for ancient solar storms and raises the bar on the upper boundaries of their intensity. Although the event in question was already known from past observations of radiocarbon spikes in ancient wood samples, its scale and magnitude remained unknown....

On Tuesday, astronomers watched as a vast 'bird wing' eruption sent waves of superheated plasma surging across the sun's northern hemisphere. At over 600,000 miles long (one million km), the filament of solar material was more than twice as long as the distance from the Earth to the moon. Now, scientists predict that part of this filament eruption could hit Earth tomorrow. In a post on X, formerly Twitter, aurora chaser Jure Atanackov predicted that the full force of this eruption could trigger a severe or even extreme geomagnetic storm, the highest level on official rating systems. Stunning video recorded...

When a Nobel Prize-winning physicist, Dr John Clauser, labels the claims about greenhouse gases warming the Earth as “pseudoscience” and describes them as “a dangerous corruption of science,” I urge you to take notice. He further stated that “the IPCC is one of the worst sources of dangerous misinformation,” and remarked that climate science has “metastasized into massive shock-journalistic pseudoscience.”Similarly, Professor Harold (Hal) Lewis, a distinguished physicist, called such claims “the biggest and most successful pseudoscientific fraud” he had encountered in his lifetime. Another German physicist expressed outrage upon discovering that much of what the IPCC and the media presented...

Earth's Northern Lights typically dance near the poles, but 41,000 years ago, they lit up skies over North Africa and Australia. New research reveals how dramatically Earth's magnetic field weakened and shifted during an event called the Laschamps geomagnetic excursion, potentially influencing human evolution at a pivotal moment in our history...During the Laschamps excursion, Earth's magnetic field weakened to just 10% of its current strength, while the magnetic poles shifted dramatically away from the geographic poles...Using advanced computer modeling, the research team reconstructed Earth's magnetosphere during five key periods of the excursion. At its peak around 40,977 years ago, Earth's...

According to the experts at NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center, two coronal mass ejections (CMEs) are en route to Earth, and they could be bringing a glowing gift: a potential auroral display reaching farther south than usual—possibly lighting up skies over parts of the northern U.S., like New York and Idaho. This space weather alert is tied to a rare solar double feature: two magnetic filament eruptions that launched CMEs from the Sun over the weekend. If both CMEs arrive on Earth close together, as forecast, we could be looking at G2-class (moderate) geomagnetic storm conditions on Wednesday. ... According...

Scientists have been left baffled after discovering something vast and radioactive lurking in the depths of the Pacific Ocean. An international team of scientists has found unexpectedly high levels of the rare radioactive isotope beryllium-10 in samples from the Pacific seabed. And they believe it could have been caused by a blast of radiation from space more than 10 million years ago. Beryllium-10 is an isotope - a variant of an element with a different number of neutrons in its atomic nuclei, formed when cosmic rays hit oxygen and nitrogen in the upper atmosphere. After forming, this isotope falls to...

This and other recent coronal mass ejections were not directed towards Earth. The extremely rare coronal mass ejection seen like a bubble stretching around the Sun! Image Credit: NASA/ESA/SOHO Solar scientists think there is a very active sunspot on the far side of the Sun. Sunspots are a common feature, especially during Solar Maximum, but we are yet to see this particular one. It will come into view next week, but something must be stirring the solar activity. In the last 10 days, four coronal mass ejections (CMEs) have been seen leaving the other side of the Sun. Among them,...

Artist’s impression of a superflaring sun-like star as seen in visible light. Image: © MPS/Alexey Chizhik Scientists Say Our Sun Could Release a Deadly ‘Superflare’ At Any Moment A new study led by researchers from the Max Planck Institute of Solar System Research (MPS) has revealed stars like our sun emit a massive burst of energy called a “superflare” that can prove dangerous or evenly deadly roughly every 100 years, meaning our Sun’s next event is already overdue. Previous research has suggested that superflares, which release more than one octillion joules of energy within a short period, may occur less...

Severe space weather events, recorded in tree rings, could disrupt modern communications and pose serious risks to astronauts and satellites. A West Virginia University researcher is studying how reliable trees are in capturing radiocarbon from such events to help prepare for future disruptions. Tree rings reveal ancient solar storms, helping scientists predict and prepare for future events that could disrupt satellites and technology. A West Virginia University researcher suggests that severe space weather can leave traces in tree rings, offering valuable evidence that may help us prepare for future catastrophic events that could endanger communication satellites and astronauts. Amy Hessl,...

NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory captured this striking image of a solar flare—a bright flash at the Sun’s center—on November 6, 2024. The image shows extreme ultraviolet light, highlighting the superheated material in the flare, which has been colorized in red. Credit: NASA/SDO On November 6, 2024, NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory recorded a powerful solar flare, peaking at 8:40 a.m. ET. This flare, classified as an X2.3, is intense enough to potentially disrupt radio signals, navigation systems, and power grids on Earth. It also poses significant risks to astronauts and spacecraft operating in orbit. On November 6, 2024, NASA’s Solar Dynamics...

NOAA’s GOES-19, equipped with the world’s first operational space-based coronagraph, is beginning to monitor solar activity and space weather. CCOR-1 observations will soon aid in warning systems for solar disruptions that affect Earth. Credit: NOAA/NASA NOAA’s new Compact Coronagraph, CCOR-1, onboard the GOES-19 satellite, has begun transmitting its first images, revealing solar activities like coronal mass ejections (CMEs). NOAA has released the first images from the Compact Coronagraph (CCOR-1), a powerful solar telescope aboard the new GOES-19 satellite. CCOR-1, the world’s first operational space-based coronagraph, began observing the sun’s corona—the faint, outermost layer of the solar atmosphere—on September 19, 2024....

NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory captured these images of a solar flare — seen as the bright flash in each of the three image panes — on October 26, 2024. The images show three different subsets of extreme ultraviolet light that highlight the extremely hot material in flares and which are colorized in teal, gold, and red. Credit: NASA/SDO ======================================================================================= On October 26, 2024, NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory recorded a powerful solar flare that peaked at 3:19 a.m. ET. Classified as an X1.8 flare, this intense event has the potential to disrupt radio signals, navigation systems, and power grids on Earth,...

NASA and NOAA have declared the Sun’s solar maximum, noting increased sunspot activity and heightened solar events that influence Earth’s space weather. This period is linked to significant geomagnetic storms and aurora displays, with potential disruptions to satellites and communication systems. Solar Maximum Announced by NASA and NOAA.. During a teleconference on Tuesday, officials from NASA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and the international Solar Cycle Prediction Panel declared that the Sun has entered its solar maximum period. This phase, characterized by heightened magnetic activity, could continue for the next year. The solar cycle is an approximately 11-year...

A severe solar storm is currently blasting Earth that could stress power grids even more as the US deals with disruptions from Hurricane Milton that hit Florida. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) issued an extreme geomagnetic storm watch for the next two days after the sun released a powerful a explosion of energy on Tuesday. The level 4 geomagnetic storm began hitting Earth at around 9:30am ET and is expected to continue through Friday.

An enormous mass of charged solar particles will slam into our planet Thursday (Oct. 10), likely triggering a "severe" G4-class geomagnetic storm, according to an alert from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) Space Weather Prediction Center. Storms of this magnitude may disrupt power grids, nudge satellites off course, interfere with GPS navigation and damage "critical infrastructure technology," NOAA warns. The geomagnetic storm will also make auroras visible at much lower latitudes than usual. According to NOAA, the northern lights "may become visible over much of the northern half of the country, and maybe as far south as Alabama...

Could this be the Perfect Geo-storm? October is off to a hot start: The sun unleashed a massive X-class solar flare — the “strongest of its kind,” according to Space.com — that has the potential to pummel our planet with a powerful geomagnetic storm this week. The supercharged sunburst erupted from sunspot AR3842 on Tuesday evening. It clocked in at X7.1, making it the second most powerful in the last seven years after the monster X8.7 magnitude in May, Live Science reported. This also triggered a coronal mass ejection (CME) — when plasma and magnetic particles burst forth from the...

The sun has unleashed an enormous X-class solar flare, temporarily triggering a radio blackout above parts of the U.S. and unleashing a hefty coronal mass ejection (CME) that will likely slam into our planet, potentially triggering vibrant aurora displays later this week. The X-class solar flare — the most powerful type the sun can produce — exploded outward from sunspot AR3842 near the solar equator at around 6 p.m. ET on Tuesday (Oct. 1). The flare had a magnitude of X7.1, making it the second most powerful solar explosion of the current solar cycle, Solar Cycle 25, which began in...

A storm could be-fall us. Colorful leaves and cooler temperatures aren’t the only thing autumn is potentially bringing. Meteorologists predict that Earth could be blasted by a geomagnetic storm on Wednesday due to its timing with the autumnal equinox. A coronal mass ejection (CME) — when plasma and magnetic particles burst forth from the sun’s surface — occurred on Sunday, the same day as the official start of fall, Space.com reported. It reportedly occurred when a sunspot called AR3835 unexpectedly spouted an M-class solar flare — something scientists hadn’t predicted as said sunspot had appeared stable.

(NEXSTAR) – Geomagnetic storm conditions observed over the weekend strengthened Monday morning, creating a “major disturbance in Earth’s magnetic field,” the Space Weather Prediction Center said. The storm reached a G4 level in strength — the second-highest on the scale, classified as “severe” — just before 11 a.m. Eastern Time. The geomagnetic storm conditions may continue into the evening as solar flaring continues, forecasters said. “Severe levels is pretty extraordinary,” Shawn Dahl, service coordinator at SWPC, said in a media briefing earlier this year. “It’s a very rare event to happen.” At the G4 level, impacts on our infrastructure are...