Satellites in low Earth orbit (LEO) can drift hundreds of kilometers out of their expected orbits when hit by bad space weather. The problem affects the International Space Station, China’s Tiangong space station, and many Earth observation satellites that require close monitoring of our planet. This positioning uncertainty increases the risk of dangerous orbital collisions,… Read More »
A bright mass emerges from a red circle. Space weather may seem like a story from a galaxy far, far away; But when solar storms affect us on Earth, we are directly affected. These storms northern Lights, for example. They can even cause temporary outages in our communications systems and power grid. of these sunlightwe… Read More »
If solar scientists are not yet eager to observe the sun as it reaches solar maximum in 2024, a newly discovered gamma ray puzzle will intensify that desire. Examining 14 years of data from NASA’s Fermi space telescope, a research team discovered that during the last solar maximum in 2013 and 2014, the sun’s polar… Read More »
Scientists are building a “state-of-the-art” digital space model around Earth to improve prediction of solar storms and their impacts on infrastructure. Almost seventy years into the space age, scientists’ understanding space weather still very rude. Unlike terrestrial weather conditions, which are now predicted with great accuracy and timeliness by powerful supercomputers, space weather forecasts are… Read More »