Space Weather

See our amazing collection of stories and features about the increasingly important topic of space weather (aka solar storms).

Related Topics: Solar Eclipse, Aurora Borealis 

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a major solar flare

Is the electric grid ready for extreme space weather?

By Greg Uyeno published

It's clear that space weather can cause blackouts, but scientists are still working to predict extreme events and forecast their potentially devastating effects.

A growing number of Starlink satellites can be found in low orbit around Earth.

SpaceX's Starlink satellites will help improve space weather forecasts amid sun's unpredictable activity

By Tereza Pultarova published

SpaceX's Starlink satellites are providing data to NOAA to help improve space weather forecasts as spacecraft operators struggle with unexpected effects of frequent solar eruptions.

Artist's illustration of a very active sun next to Earth.

Space weather: What is it and how is it predicted?

By Daisy Dobrijevic, Andrew May published

Reference Space weather refers to conditions in the region of space that is affected by the sun. It is tricky to predict and can wreak havoc on the technological world.

dark spots on the sun's disk

A giant sunspot the size of 3 Earths is facing us right now

By Elizabeth Howell published

A sunspot nearly triple the size of Earth is within firing range of our planet and may send out medium-class flares in the near future.

Artist's illustration showing solar wind particles flying through space.

Solar wind: What is it and how does it affect Earth?

By Daisy Dobrijevic published

Reference Solar wind is composed of charged particles and the sun's magnetic field and is continually released from our star. Explore the phenomenon in more detail here.

Strong geomagnetic aurora borealis (northern lights) north of Fairbanks in Alaska.

Do extraterrestrial auroras occur on other planets?

By Joanna Thompson published

Auroras don't just exist on Earth. Here's what we know about auroras on other planets in the solar system.

Orange sun with black sunspots on the surface.

Sunspots: What are they, and why do they occur?

By Daisy Dobrijevic published

Reference Sunspots are cooler, planet-size regions of strong magnetic fields on the surface of the sun. Explore sunspots in more detail with our comprehensive guide.

Image of coronal mass ejections, large wispy orange flares emitted from the sun.

Coronal mass ejections: What are they and how do they form?

By Daisy Dobrijevic published

Reference Coronal mass ejections (CMEs) are colossal expulsions of plasma and magnetic field from the sun's corona. Explore CMEs in more detail here in our guide.

Artist's illustration of a coronal mass ejection like the one that caused the 1859 the Carrington Even

The Carrington Event: History's greatest solar storm

By Andrew May, Daisy Dobrijevic published

Reference The Carrington Event took place in September 1859 and is one of history's largest solar storms. Events like this can wreak havoc on our technological world.

An M-class solar flare that occurred on May 19, 2022.

Sun busts out trio of moderate solar flares that might herald more activity

By Elizabeth Howell published

A trio of moderate flares blasted off from the sun on Thursday, and there might be more in store.

Artist's illustration of the sun firing out large fiery looking solar flares.

Solar flares: What are they and how do they affect Earth?

By Daisy Dobrijevic published

Reference There are five different types of solar flares. Discover what solar flares are, what causes them and the effects they have on Earth in our solar flare guide.

The sun produced an X-class flare on May 10, 2022.

A 'mixed up' sunspot just fired off a huge solar flare

By Elizabeth Howell published

Scientists are keeping an eye on a sunspot that fired off an X-class flare while "having an identity crisis," according to SpaceWeather.com.

Artist's illustration of the parker solar probe in foreground and large orange sun in the background.

Parker Solar Probe: First spacecraft to 'touch' the sun

By Daisy Dobrijevic published

Reference NASA's Parker Solar Probe is on a mission to study the sun closer than ever before. Learn more about the fastest spacecraft to date in our solar probe guide.

The sun fired off a moderate-sized solar flare (center) on May 4, 2022.

Pew! Pew! Sun blasts two moderate solar flares in time for Star Wars Day

By Elizabeth Howell published

While our sun merrily blasted two moderate-size solar flares in time for Star Wars Day, auroras are likely not our destiny yet.

NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory captured the solar flare May 3, 2022, which is visible at lower left.

Sun fires off huge solar flare from new sunspot coming into view

By Elizabeth Howell published

The active sun fired off a powerful X-class flare Tuesday (May 3), but likely not in the direction of Earth.

An artist's impression of glowing plasma, following loops of magnetic field lines that become entangled before snapping through fast magnetic reconnection.

Solar flares explode with huge energy thanks to a simple magnetic phenomenon

By Keith Cooper published

The secret to what drives powerful solar flares is literally in the palm of your hand.

This still image from a NASA Solar Dynamics Observatory video shows a powerful X1.1-class solar flare erupting from the sunspot AR2994 as it turns away from Earth on April 30, 2022.

Sun erupts with powerful solar flare from departing sunspot

By Tariq Malik published

An active sunspot on the sun turning away from Earth unleashed a powerful parting shot as it moved out of view on Saturday (April 30).

Artist's impression of discrete auroras over Mars.

Newfound auroras on Mars defy easy explanation

By Elizabeth Howell published

Scientists with the United Arab Emirates' Mars mission have spotted a 'worm-like' aurora stretching halfway across the Red Planet.

The sun let off a double solar flare on Monday, April 25, 2022.

Sunspot sends off double flare, as solar activity ramps up

By Stephanie Pappas published

A restless sunspot sent off a double solar flare on Monday (April 25), temporarily disrupting some radio communications in Asia and Australia.

NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory captured a moderate-sized solar flare erupting on April 20, 2022.

Why so much solar activity? Sun may be outpacing predictions.

By Rahul Rao published

It's no coincidence that the headlines have been full of solar flares and storms: Solar cycle 25, as astronomers call it, is now well under way.