NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory captured this image of a strong solar flare on May 8, 2024. The Wednesday solar flares kicked off the geomagnetic storm happening this weekend.
NOAA uses a five-point scale to rate these storms, and this weekend's storm is a G4. It's expected to produce auroras as far south as Alabama.
To contextualize this storm, we are looking back at the largest solar storm on record: the Carrington Event.
Want us to cover more about the sun? Email us at shortwave@npr.org. Listen to Short Wave on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and Google Podcasts.
Collection
[
|
...
]