NASA issues warning on extreme solar weather with blackout potential
Listen to article
Solar storms and intense space weather are expected in the coming days and weeks as a highly active region of the Sun becomes visible. This activity casue auroras and potential blackout on earth, astronomers warn.
NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory recently recorded the most powerful eruption of the year – an X2.7-class solar flare – from a newly formed sunspot cluster, now designated AR4087.
The flare, which occurred earlier this week, triggered temporary radio blackouts across the Middle East.
High-frequency signals were interrupted for roughly 10 minutes, according to the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
'This is getting intense,' wrote space photographer Vincent Ledvina in a social media post. 'Especially as this active region turns closer into view.'
Photo: Twitter
WOW, happening now: an X2.7 flare from AR 4087 rotating in. This is getting intense, especially as this active region turns closer into view. This same AR just produced an M5.3 flare a few hours ago.
What does this AR have planned over the next days… we'll have to wait and see. pic.twitter.com/GAgJWi3bJV — Vincent Ledvina (@Vincent_Ledvina) May 14, 2025
Experts warn that continued activity from this area could cause further disturbances to satellite communications, navigation systems, and even electrical grids.
There is also increased risk to spacecraft and astronauts due to heightened radiation exposure.
The Sun is currently nearing the peak of its 11-year solar cycle – a phase known as the solar maximum – when magnetic turbulence is at its most extreme.
This upheaval leads to frequent flares and coronal mass ejections (CMEs), which can result in dazzling aurora displays when charged particles interact with Earth's magnetic field.
With several sunspot regions now facing Earth and a magnetically active area emerging over the Sun's southeastern horizon, forecasters predict more intense solar weather events in the near future.
'There are currently up to five sunspot regions on the facing side of the Sun,' the UK Met Office stated in its latest space weather forecast.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Express Tribune
3 days ago
- Express Tribune
Four astronauts home from space station
This picture provided by Nasa shows (L to R) Roscosmos cosmonaut Kirill Peskov, Nasa astronauts Nichole Ayers, Anne McClain, and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Takuya Onishi inside the SpaceX Dragon Endurance spacecraft onboard the SpaceX recovery ship Shannon shortly after landing in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of San Diego, California, US on August 9. PHOTO: AFP An international crew of four astronauts is back home on Earth Saturday after nearly five months aboard the International Space Station, returning safely in a SpaceX capsule. The spacecraft carrying US astronauts Anne McClain and Nichole Ayers, Japan's Takuya Onishi and Russian cosmonaut Kirill Peskov splashed down off California's coast at 8:44 am local time (1534 GMT). Their return marks the end of the 10th crew rotation mission to the space station under NASA's Commercial Crew Program, which was created to succeed the Space Shuttle era by partnering with private industry. The Dragon capsule of billionaire Elon Musk's SpaceX company detached from the International Space Station (ISS) at 2215 GMT on Friday. When these capsules reenter Earth's atmosphere, they heat up to 3,500 degrees Fahrenheit (1,925 Celsius), according to NASA. Atmospheric reentry — then the deployment of huge parachutes when the capsule gets closer to Earth — slows its speed from 17,500 miles (28,100 kilometers ) per hour to just 16 miles per hour. After the capsule splashed down, it was recovered by a SpaceX ship and hoisted aboard. Only then were the astronauts able to breathe Earth's air again, for the first time in months. The crew will now fly to Houston to be reunited with their families. They conducted numerous scientific experiments during their time on the space station, including studying plant growth, how cells react to gravity, and the effect of microgravity on human eyes. NASA acting Administrator Sean Duffy praised the successful mission. "Our crew missions are the building blocks for long-duration, human exploration pushing the boundaries of what's possible," he said in a NASA statement. McClain said her farewell to the ISS was "bittersweet" because she may never return. "Every day, this mission depends on people from all over the world," she wrote on X. "It depends on government and commercial entities, it depends on all political parties, and it depends on commitment to an unchanged goal over many years and decades." NASA said last month it would lose about 20 percent of its workforce — around 3,900 employees — under cuts from the US President Donald Trump's sweeping effort to trim the federal workforce. Trump has meanwhile prioritized crewed missions to the Moon and Mars. The Crew-10's launch into space in March allowed two US astronauts to return home after being unexpectedly stuck aboard the space station for nine months. When they launched in June 2024, Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams were only supposed to spend eight days in space on a test of the Boeing Starliner's first crewed flight. However, the spaceship developed propulsion problems and was deemed unfit to fly back, leaving them in space for an indefinite period. NASA announced this week that Wilmore has decided to retire after 25 years of service at the US space agency. Last week, US astronauts Zena Cardman and Mike Fincke, Japan's Kimiya Yui and Russian cosmonaut Oleg Platonov boarded the ISS for a six-month mission.
Express Tribune
3 days ago
- Express Tribune
Tom Hanks, who portrayed Jim Lovell in 'Apollo 13,' pays tribute to the late astronaut
Kevin Bacon, Tom Hanks, and Bill Paxton seen during a scene from the film 'Apollo 13' in 1995. Photo Courtesy: CNN Tom Hanks is honoring the real-life hero that he once portrayed in a popular, Oscar-winning film, CNN reported on Saturday. After the death of astronaut Jim Lovell was announced on Friday, Hanks shared a poignant social media post to his Instagram, writing, "There are people who dare, who dream, and who lead others to places we would not go on our own." "Jim Lovell, who for a long while had gone farther into space and for longer than any other person of our planet, was that kind of guy," Hanks added in the post. The actor portrayed Lovell in the 1995 Ron Howard-directed film "Apollo 13," which told the story of Lovell's failed lunar space mission which almost cost him and his crew their lives in 1970. Apollo 13 would have marked NASA's third successful crewed moon landing, but during the ill-fated mission – which carried Lovell as well as astronauts John Swigert Jr. and Fred Haise Jr. on board – an oxygen tank located on the crew's service module exploded when they were about 200,000 miles (322,000 kilometers) away from Earth. Lovell famously delivered the news to mission control, saying "Houston, we've had a problem." The exchange was later immortalized by Hanks in the "Apollo 13" movie, which costarred Gary Sinise, Kevin Bacon, Ed Harris, Kathleen Quinlan and the late Bill Paxton. With the damage effectively taking out their power source and other life support supplies, the Apollo 13 crew had to abruptly abandon their trek to the lunar surface and use several engine burns to swing around the far side of the moon and put themselves on a course back toward Earth. The three-person crew made a high-stakes splashdown return in the South Pacific Ocean about three days after the tank explosion, marking the conclusion of what has come to be known as the "successful failure" of the Apollo missions. "His many voyages around Earth and on to so-very-close to the moon were not made for riches or celebrity, but because such challenges as those are what fuels the course of being alive – and who better than Jim Lovell to make those voyages," Hanks wrote in his tribute on Friday. Lovell died at age 97 on Thursday in Lake Forest, Illinois, according to a NASA news release, CNN previously reported. The cause of death was not immediately clear. He made a brief cameo in the movie as the captain of the USS Iwo Jima, the Navy ship that recovered the Apollo 13 crew after splashdown. "Apollo 13" was nominated for nine Oscars, including best picture, and won two, for best film editing and best sound.
Express Tribune
3 days ago
- Express Tribune
SpaceX capsule brings international crew safely home
This picture provided by Nasa shows (L to R) Roscosmos cosmonaut Kirill Peskov, Nasa astronauts Nichole Ayers, Anne McClain, and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Takuya Onishi inside the SpaceX Dragon Endurance spacecraft onboard the SpaceX recovery ship Shannon shortly after landing in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of San Diego, California, US on August 9. PHOTO: AFP Listen to article An international crew of four astronauts returned home on Earth on Saturday after nearly five months aboard the International Space Station, returning safely in a SpaceX capsule. The spacecraft carrying US astronauts Anne McClain and Nichole Ayers, Japan's Takuya Onishi and Russian cosmonaut Kirill Peskov splashed down off California's coast at 8:44am local time (8:34pm PKT). Their return marks the end of the 10th crew rotation mission to the space station under Nasa's Commercial Crew Program, which was created to succeed the Space Shuttle era by partnering with private industry. Read More: Tesla to streamline its AI chip design work, Musk says The Dragon capsule of billionaire Elon Musk's SpaceX company detached from the International Space Station (ISS) at 2215 GMT (3:15am PKT) on Friday. The capsule's dizzying, 17-hour drop back down to Earth was slowed when it re-entered the atmosphere, then further reined in by the deployment of huge parachutes. After the capsule splashed down, it was recovered by a SpaceX ship and hoisted aboard. Only then were the astronauts able to breathe Earth's air again, for the first time in months. The astronaut team, known as Crew-10, conducted numerous scientific experiments during their time on the space station, including studying plant growth and how cells react to gravity. Their launch into space in March allowed two US astronauts to return home after being unexpectedly stuck on board the space station for nine months. Also Read: Did Elon Musk just greenlight AI-generated NSFW images of celebrities? When they launched in June 2024, Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams were only supposed to spend eight days in space on a test of the Boeing Starliner's first crewed flight. However, the spaceship developed propulsion problems and was deemed unfit to fly back, leaving them stranded in space. Nasa announced this week that Wilmore has decided to retire after 25 years of service at the US space agency. Last week, US astronauts Zena Cardman and Mike Fincke, Japan's Kimiya Yui and Russian cosmonaut Oleg Platonov boarded the ISS for a six-month mission.
