Space Weather, Solar Flares & Sun Storms: Latest News

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northern lights appear as ribbons of green and purple light streaking across the sky and reflected in the water below. There are some mountains to the left side of the image.

Northern lights (aurora borealis): what they are and how to see them

By Stefanie Waldek, Daisy Dobrijevic last updated

Reference Discover everything there is to know about the northern lights, including how they form, where they can be seen and what causes their colors.

Reference
closeup of a huge eruption of plasma from the sun, captured by a nasa spacecraft

Solar storm forecasts could soon get a big boost. Here's how.

By Meredith Garofalo published

Scientists have figured out a way to estimate the speed of a coronal mass ejection before it even leaves the sun, potentially providing a big boost to space weather forecasts.

The Sun
An aurora visible over Utah from the International Space Station, photographed in Oct. 28, 2023 by an Expedition 70 astronaut.

New study shows mysterious solar particle blasts can devastate the ozone layer, bathing Earth in radiation for years

By Alan Cooper, Pavle Arsenovic published

The remarkable aurora in early May this year demonstrated the power that solar storms can emit as radiation, but occasionally the sun does something far more destructive.

The Sun
graphic illustration of the SDO on the left and a animation showing different views of the sun on the right.

Solar Dynamics Observatory: Discovering the secrets of the sun's magnetic field

By Keith Cooper last updated

Reference Learn how the sun's secrets have been gradually revealed by NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory.

Reference
a big white rocket launches into a blue sky, with the ocean in the background

Powerful GOES-U weather satellite launches to orbit atop SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket (video)

By Meredith Garofalo published

NOAA's advanced GOES-U weather satellite launched today (June 25) on the 10th-ever liftoff of SpaceX's powerful Falcon Heavy rocket.

Launches & Spacecraft
close up view of the sun shows a large bright eruption at the edge of the sun.

It's back! Aurora-sparking sunspot returns for rare 3rd trip across the sun, firing off explosive solar flare (video)

By Daisy Dobrijevic published

The sunspot region responsible for May's epic solar storm and widespread auroras is returning for the third time.

The Sun
graphic showing two hands typing on a laptop screen with a large image of the northern lights on the screen.

More people Googled 'northern lights' in May 2024 than in any other month in history

By Ryan French published

Public interest in the sun was at an all-time high in May. Here we explore why this was the case.

The Sun
close up image of the sun's surface shows huge fiery looking tendrils reaching out from the surface of the sun as giant loops of plasma frolic above the solar surface.

Astrophotographer captures stunning close-up views of sunspot region that spawned May's auroras

By Daisy Dobrijevic published

Check out these incredible close-up views of emerging sunspot AR3697 as it turns to face Earth. The scenes were captured by astrophotographer Andrew McCarthy from his backyard in Arizona.

The Sun
A view of bright green northern lights above a snowy landscape with a lake.

How auroras on Earth, Saturn and Jupiter could help forecast risky space weather

By Robert Lea published

Scientists have investigated the different factors shaping celestial light-shows over Earth, Saturn and Jupiter. The resulting framework could help predict risky space weather.

Solar System
gif animation showing a bright solar flare erupting from the lower left region of the sun.

Double trouble: Sun unleashes 2 powerful X-class solar flares in 12 hours (video)

By Daisy Dobrijevic published

Two X-class solar flares erupted from the sun in less than 12 hours as a magnetically complex sunspot begins to face Earth.

The Sun
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