At NASA, first steps toward space weather prediction
New observations from the agency's STEREO spacecraft have provided researchers with a first-ever view, end-to-end and in three dimensions, of the impact of a solar storm on Earth.
NASA scientists for the first time can track the effects of a solar storm on Earth, offering new advancements in our ability to predict space weather and how it will impact our satellites, emergency systems, power grid, air traffic control equipment, and more.
New observations from NASA's Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory, or STEREO, spacecraft have allowed researchers to observe the sun throwing off immense clouds of material, see how the material interacts with solar wind, and monitor the result as it hurtles toward Earth's magnetosphere.
The result: a first-ever view, end-to-end and in three dimensions, of the impact of a solar storm on Earth.
"With stereoscopic telescopes, we are actually witnessing the solar wind and solar storm blowing all the way from sun to Earth," said Madhulika Guhathakurta, STEREO program scientist, during a press conference at NASA headquarters in Washington, D.C., today.