Members Can Post Anonymously On This Site
Huge Spring Storms Rouse Uranus from Winter Hibernation
-
Similar Topics
-
By USH
An Alberta couple captured something extraordinary on camera during the evening of July 2, 2025. Just after a powerful lightning strike near their home in Rich Valley, Alberta, they saw what they described as a ball of fire hovering roughly 20 feet above the ground.
“It just appeared out of nowhere,” one of them recalled. “A big, glowing sphere hanging in the air — and then, just like that, it vanished.”
The main stream media are trying to blame this on the weather speculating the glowing orb could be ball lightning, an elusive and still-unexplained weather phenomenon reported for centuries. Often described as floating spheres of light, ball lightning has defied scientific consensus.
But could it be more than just an atmospheric anomaly?
A similar sighting occurred in 2016 in Russia’s Novosibirsk Region, where a massive, luminous sphere was seen drifting silently across a field before vanishing into nearby woods. That object, see image below, too, appeared after intense lightning activity and left experts just as baffled.
Is this truly a rare natural phenomenon? Or are we witnessing something beyond the scope of conventional science, a window into technology or intelligence we don’t yet understand?
View the full article
-
By NASA
An unexpectedly strong solar storm rocked our planet on April 23, 2023, sparking auroras as far south as southern Texas in the U.S. and taking the world by surprise.
Two days earlier, the Sun blasted a coronal mass ejection (CME) — a cloud of energetic particles, magnetic fields, and solar material — toward Earth. Space scientists took notice, expecting it could cause disruptions to Earth’s magnetic field, known as a geomagnetic storm. But the CME wasn’t especially fast or massive, and it was preceded by a relatively weak solar flare, suggesting the storm would be minor. But it became severe.
Using NASA heliophysics missions, new studies of this storm and others are helping scientists learn why some CMEs have more intense effects — and better predict the impacts of future solar eruptions on our lives.
During the night of April 23 to 24, 2023, a geomagnetic storm produced auroras that were witnessed as far south as Arizona, Arkansas, and Texas in the U.S. This photo shows green aurora shimmering over Larimore, North Dakota, in the early morning of April 24. Copyright Elan Azriel, used with permission Why Was This Storm So Intense?
A paper published in the Astrophysical Journal on March 31 suggests the CME’s orientation relative to Earth likely caused the April 2023 storm to become surprisingly strong.
The researchers gathered observations from five heliophysics spacecraft across the inner solar system to study the CME in detail as it emerged from the Sun and traveled to Earth.
They noticed a large coronal hole near the CME’s birthplace. Coronal holes are areas where the solar wind — a stream of particles flowing from the Sun — floods outward at higher than normal speeds.
“The fast solar wind coming from this coronal hole acted like an air current, nudging the CME away from its original straight-line path and pushing it closer to Earth’s orbital plane,” said the paper’s lead author, Evangelos Paouris of the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Maryland. “In addition to this deflection, the CME also rotated slightly.”
Paouris says this turned the CME’s magnetic fields opposite to Earth’s magnetic field and held them there — allowing more of the Sun’s energy to pour into Earth’s environment and intensifying the storm.
The strength of the April 2023 geomagnetic storm was a surprise in part because the coronal mass ejection (CME) that produced it followed a relatively weak solar flare, seen as the bright area to the lower right of center in this extreme ultraviolet image of the Sun from NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory. The CMEs that produce severe geomagnetic storms are typically preceded by stronger flares. However, a team of scientists think fast solar wind from a coronal hole (the dark area below the flare in this image) helped rotate the CME and made it more potent when it struck Earth. NASA/SDO Cool Thermosphere
Meanwhile, NASA’s GOLD (Global-scale Observations of Limb and Disk) mission revealed another unexpected consequence of the April 2023 storm at Earth.
Before, during, and after the storm, GOLD studied the temperature in the middle thermosphere, a part of Earth’s upper atmosphere about 85 to 120 miles overhead. During the storm, temperatures increased throughout GOLD’s wide field of view over the Americas. But surprisingly, after the storm, temperatures dropped about 90 to 198 degrees Fahrenheit lower than they were before the storm (from about 980 to 1,070 degrees Fahrenheit before the storm to 870 to 980 degrees Fahrenheit afterward).
“Our measurement is the first to show widespread cooling in the middle thermosphere after a strong storm,” said Xuguang Cai of the University of Colorado, Boulder, lead author of a paper about GOLD’s observations published in the journal JGR Space Physics on April 15, 2025.
The thermosphere’s temperature is important, because it affects how much drag Earth-orbiting satellites and space debris experience.
“When the thermosphere cools, it contracts and becomes less dense at satellite altitudes, reducing drag,” Cai said. “This can cause satellites and space debris to stay in orbit longer than expected, increasing the risk of collisions. Understanding how geomagnetic storms and solar activity affect Earth’s upper atmosphere helps protect technologies we all rely on — like GPS, satellites, and radio communications.”
Predicting When Storms Strike
To predict when a CME will trigger a geomagnetic storm, or be “geoeffective,” some scientists are combining observations with machine learning. A paper published last November in the journal Solar Physics describes one such approach called GeoCME.
Machine learning is a type of artificial intelligence in which a computer algorithm learns from data to identify patterns, then uses those patterns to make decisions or predictions.
Scientists trained GeoCME by giving it images from the NASA/ESA (European Space Agency) SOHO (Solar and Heliospheric Observatory) spacecraft of different CMEs that reached Earth along with SOHO images of the Sun before, during, and after each CME. They then told the model whether each CME produced a geomagnetic storm.
Then, when it was given images from three different science instruments on SOHO, the model’s predictions were highly accurate. Out of 21 geoeffective CMEs, the model correctly predicted all 21 of them; of 7 non-geoeffective ones, it correctly predicted 5 of them.
“The algorithm shows promise,” said heliophysicist Jack Ireland of NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, who was not involved in the study. “Understanding if a CME will be geoeffective or not can help us protect infrastructure in space and technological systems on Earth. This paper shows machine learning approaches to predicting geoeffective CMEs are feasible.”
The white cloud expanding outward in this image sequence is a coronal mass ejection (CME) that erupted from the Sun on April 21, 2023. Two days later, the CME struck Earth and produced a surprisingly strong geomagnetic storm. The images in this sequence are from a coronagraph on the NASA/ESA (European Space Agency) SOHO (Solar and Heliospheric Observatory) spacecraft. The coronagraph uses a disk to cover the Sun and reveal fainter details around it. The Sun’s location and size are indicated by a small white circle. The planet Jupiter appears as a bright dot on the far right. NASA/ESA/SOHO Earlier Warnings
During a severe geomagnetic storm in May 2024 — the strongest to rattle Earth in over 20 years — NASA’s STEREO (Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory) measured the magnetic field structure of CMEs as they passed by.
When a CME headed for Earth hits a spacecraft first, that spacecraft can often measure the CME and its magnetic field directly, helping scientists determine how strong the geomagnetic storm will be at Earth. Typically, the first spacecraft to get hit are one million miles from Earth toward the Sun at a place called Lagrange Point 1 (L1), giving us only 10 to 60 minutes advanced warning.
By chance, during the May 2024 storm, when several CMEs erupted from the Sun and merged on their way to Earth, NASA’s STEREO-A spacecraft happened to be between us and the Sun, about 4 million miles closer to the Sun than L1.
A paper published March 17, 2025, in the journal Space Weather reports that if STEREO-A had served as a CME sentinel, it could have provided an accurate prediction of the resulting storm’s strength 2 hours and 34 minutes earlier than a spacecraft could at L1.
According to the paper’s lead author, Eva Weiler of the Austrian Space Weather Office in Graz, “No other Earth-directed superstorm has ever been observed by a spacecraft positioned closer to the Sun than L1.”
Earth’s Lagrange points are places in space where the gravitational pull between the Sun and Earth balance, making them relatively stable locations to put spacecraft. NASA By Vanessa Thomas
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.
View the full article
-
By NASA
3 Min Read Studying Storms from Space Station
An artist’s impression of a blue jet as observed from the space station. Credits: Mount Visual/University of Bergen/DTU Science in Space June 2025
Scientists use instruments on the International Space Station to study phenomena in Earth’s ionosphere or upper atmosphere including thunderstorms, lightning, and transient luminous events (TLEs). TLEs take many forms, including blue jets, discharges that grow upward into the stratosphere from cloud tops, and colorful bursts of energy above storms called Stratospheric/Mesospheric Perturbations Resulting from Intense Thunderstorm Electrification or SPRITES.
Red SPRITES are visible above a line of thunderstorms off the coast of South Africa.NASA TLEs can disrupt communication systems on the ground and pose a threat to aircraft and spacecraft. Understanding these phenomena also could improve atmospheric models and weather predictions. Because these events occur well above the altitudes of normal lightning and storm clouds, they are difficult to observe from the ground. ASIM, an investigation from ESA (European Space Agency), uses a monitor on the exterior of the space station to collect data on TLEs. These data are providing insights into how thunderstorms affect Earth’s atmosphere and helping to improve atmospheric models used for weather and climate predictions.
ELVES and coronas
A study based on ASIM data confirmed that lightning-like discharges at the tops of thunderstorms can create another type of TLE, massive glowing rings in the upper atmosphere known as Emissions of Light and VLF Perturbations from EMP events, or ELVES. This experiment showed that these discharges influence the ionosphere and helped scientists learn more about Earth and space weather.
ASIM-based research also described the physical properties of different types of corona discharges in thunderstorm clouds. Corona discharges are linked to powerful but short-lived electrical bursts near the tops of clouds. The data provide a reference to support further investigation into the mechanisms behind these discharges and their role in the initiation of lightning, an important problem in lightning physics.
Other researchers used ASIM measurements along with ground-based electric field measurements to determine the height of a blue discharge from a thundercloud.
Cloud close-ups
To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video
Lightning on Earth as captured from the space station.NASA Another ESA investigation, Thor-Davis, evaluated use of a special camera to photograph high-altitude thunderstorms through the windows of the space station’s cupola. The camera can observe thunderstorm electrical activity at up to 100,000 frames per second and could be a useful tool for space-based observation of severe electrical storms and other applications.
Seeing storms from satellites
Deployment of the Light-1 CubeSat from the space station.NASA The JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) investigation Light-1 CubeSat used detectors integrated into a compact satellite to observe terrestrial gamma-ray flashes in the upper atmosphere. These high intensity, energetic events can expose aircraft, aircraft electronics, and passengers to excessive radiation. Researchers are planning to compare data collected from the mission with ground-based observations to provide more comprehensive maps of lightning and thunderstorms in the atmosphere. Small satellite detectors could cost less and be manufactured in less time than other approaches.
Keep Exploring Discover More Topics From NASA
Space Station Research and Technology
Space Station Research Results
Latest News from Space Station Research
Station Researcher’s Guide Series
View the full article
-
-
By NASA
1 min read
Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)
Advanced Composites Consortium team members gathered during May 2025 at NASA’s Langley Research Center in Virginia for a technical review of activities in the Hi-Rate Composite Aircraft Manufacturing project.NASA NASA and its partners in the Advanced Composites Consortium gathered at the agency’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, on April 29-May 1, 2025.
Team members from 22 organizations in the public-private partnership are collaborating to increase the production rate of composite aircraft, reduce costs, and improve performance.
The team discussed results from the Technology Development Phase of NASA’s Hi-Rate Composite Aircraft Manufacturing (HiCAM) project.
The project is evaluating concepts and competing approaches at the subcomponent scale to determine technologies with the greatest impact on manufacturing rate and cost. The most promising concepts will be demonstrated on full-scale wing and fuselage components during the next four years.
Through collaboration and shared investment, the team is increasing the likelihood of technologies being adopted for next-generation transports, ultimately lowering costs for operators and improving the U.S. competitive advantage in the commercial aircraft industry.
Want to Learn More About Composite Aircraft Research?
Go to the HiCAM project page here Facebook logo @NASA@NASAaero@NASA_es @NASA@NASAaero@NASA_es Instagram logo @NASA@NASAaero@NASA_es Linkedin logo @NASA Explore More
2 min read NASA Composite Manufacturing Initiative Gains Two New Members
Article 9 months ago 1 min read HiCAM 2023 Spring Review
Article 2 years ago 1 min read HiCAM Research Team at Electroimpact
HiCAM Research Team at Electroimpact
Article 2 years ago Keep Exploring Discover More Topics From NASA
Missions
Artemis
Aeronautics STEM
Explore NASA’s History
Share
Details
Last Updated May 13, 2025 EditorJim BankeContactShannon Eichornshannon.eichorn@nasa.gov Related Terms
Hi-Rate Composite Aircraft Manufacturing View the full article
-
-
Check out these Videos
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.