Space Weather Facts & Forecast

Solar storms have a range of potentially disrupting effects on satellites, radio communications, and the power grid. While harm almost never comes from the average geomagnetic storm, it is important …

It's been known for over a century that auroral storms are stronger and more frequent around the spring and fall equinoxes. Why is this the case? In this episode I dig into the dynamics of the Russel…

This fall, Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS is predicted to be visible to the naked eye, and some think it could be a truly bright spectacle. In this show, I give an overview of how to look for the comet in S…

On May 10, we experienced one of the strongest geomagnetic storms in the last 25 years. In this episode, I summarise the key points of this article by Christian Harris, to see how the storm stacks up…

In this episode I break down by latitude what Kp and other data to watch for when going aurora chasing in the Northern Hemisphere. It can seem an endless sea of confusing data values relating to the …

The solar system is huge, and it turns out that defining where it ends is tricky! Depending on the definition we use, we can come up with wildly different estimates for its size. Listen to the show f…

Today, I give an overview of the Earth's magnetic field. How is it formed and what does it do? Listen to find out! I also give the space weather forecast, in which the Sun may finally be waking from …

The sun clearly produces enormous amounts of light and heat, which sustain life on our planet. How does it do this? Is it a big ball of fire in space? I answer that and more in this episode. Addition…

On October 14, the annular solar eclipse I described in the last episode came and went. Hopefully you got to see it! Now, I'll be describing how solar eclipses affect space weather, and how they've b…

The solar radio flux is an important value in space weather monitoring and helps gauge solar cycle strength. It also impacts HF radio. What is it? I explain in the show. Also, I give the space weathe…

Solar radiation storms are yet another way space weather can impact humans and technology. How? All the answers are in the episode. I also include next week's space weather forecast, with a bit of a …

In this episode I take a look at two solar phenomena that are really the same thing with different names: filaments and prominences. Want to learn what they are or how they impact Earth? Listen to fi…

In this episode, I take a look at our solar cycle, cycle 25, and how it's progressing. One thing is for sure, predicting solar cycle strength is no easy task! Some material is taken from this article…

In this episode I cover radio blackouts: what they are, how they're connected to solar flares, why they matter, and more. I also give the space weather forecast, with many big flare players for an ac…