It has only been in the past century that weather prediction on Earth has advanced enough to work two weeks in advance. Predicting space weather, however, is only reliable an hour in advance.
Satellites, space stations and astronauts, aviation, GPS, power grids and more can be affected.
Artist’s depiction of a flare-coronal mass ejection event on Proxima Centauri.
Mark Myers, ARC Centre of Excellence for Gravitational Wave Discovery (OzGrav)
We observed a powerful flare and a huge burst of radio waves from our nearest stellar neighbour, Proxima Centauri, indicating violent space weather around the star.
The sun emitting a sudden flash of light—a solar flare.
NASA
The sun’s phenomena, like flares, can cause solar particles to enter the Earth’s atmosphere, with material effects.
The low solar corona as viewed in extreme ultraviolet light. Bright regions are where the most energetic solar storms are born. An eruption in action can be seen in the bottom-left.
NASA’s Solar Dynamic Observatory (SDO) satellite.
When dozens of US mines planted in waters off the Vietnam coast detonated almost simultaneously in 1972, all eyes turned to the Sun for an explanation.
Solar winds make the Earth’s magnetic field crunch and whistle.
NASA
At a time in the sun’s cycle when space weather experts expect less solar activity, our star is going bonkers with solar flares and coronal mass ejections. What effects will Earth feel?
Stranded sperm whale in the Netherlands.
REMKO DE WAAL/EPA