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Space Weather

Strongest Solar Flare of 2025 (X5.1) Triggers Radio Blackouts; NOAA Confirms G4 Geomagnetic Storm

Severe ‘Cannibal’ Solar Storm Hits Earth Today (12 November 2025): NOAA Confirms G4 Levels, ESA Warns of Third CME; UK on Highest Alert and NASA Delays Launch

Published: 12 November 2025 A powerful burst of space weather is sweeping across Earth today, disrupting radio communications, degrading GPS accuracy and setting the stage for another night of widespread aurora. The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) confirms G4 “severe” geomagnetic storm levels were reached early on Wednesday, while the European Space Agency (ESA) says a third coronal mass ejection (CME) could arrive late tonight or early Thursday—potentially prolonging disruptions. In the UK, the British Geological Survey (BGS) has upgraded its forecast to the highest intensity, warning this could be the biggest solar storm to affect Britain in
12 November 2025
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G4 ‘Severe’ Solar Storm Today (Nov. 12, 2025): X5.1 Flare Triggers Radio Blackouts; Northern Lights Stretch From Mexico to Australia

G4 ‘Severe’ Solar Storm Today (Nov. 12, 2025): X5.1 Flare Triggers Radio Blackouts; Northern Lights Stretch From Mexico to Australia

What’s happening now The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) reports that G4 (Severe) geomagnetic storm levels were reached at 01:20 UTC on Nov. 12 and that G1–G4 conditions could continue overnight, driven by successive coronal mass ejections (CMEs). NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center+1 In a midday update, NOAA added that strong (G3) storming has persisted and that the Nov. 11 CME is still expected to keep elevated storm levels going into Nov. 14 (UTC)—meaning another night or two of aurora potential and intermittent space‑weather impacts. NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center Across the Atlantic, the UK Met Office notes that
12 November 2025
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Strongest Solar Flare of 2025 (X5.1) Triggers Radio Blackouts; NOAA Confirms G4 Geomagnetic Storm

Strongest Solar Flare of 2025 (X5.1) Triggers Radio Blackouts; NOAA Confirms G4 Geomagnetic Storm

Sunspot AR4274’s powerful eruption at 10:04 UTC on Nov. 11 caused R3 radio blackouts across parts of Africa and Europe. A fast coronal mass ejection then drove “Severe” G4 geomagnetic storm levels early Nov. 12, with additional disturbances possible through Nov. 13, forecasters say. Space+2Space Weather+2 Updated: Nov. 12, 2025 The sun unleashed an X5.1‑class solar flare on Tuesday, Nov. 11, the most powerful flare of 2025 so far and the strongest since October 2024, according to astronomers. The eruption from active region AR4274 peaked at 10:04 UTC and immediately caused R3 (Strong) high‑frequency radio blackouts on the dayside of
12 November 2025
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Sky on Fire Tonight: Giant ‘Solar Canyon’ Aims 800‑km/s Wind at Earth—Northern Lights Could Ignite 15 U.S. States & Test Global Tech

NOAA Issues G4 ‘Severe’ Geomagnetic Storm Watch for Nov. 12 After X5.1 Solar Flare — Northern Lights Possible as Far South as Indiana Tonight (Nov. 11)

Published: November 11, 2025 Key takeaways What changed today (Nov. 11) NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC) posted a G4 (Severe) watch for Nov. 12, citing multiple coronal mass ejections (CMEs) now en route — including the most energetic, linked to today’s X5.1 flare that peaked at 10:04 UTC (5:04 a.m. EST). The agency says the latest CME appears partial‑halo and fast, and while forecast timing remains uncertain, confidence is high that Earth will catch at least a glancing blow. Space Weather Prediction Center NOAA’s 3‑Day Forecast (issued 18:40 UTC) backs up the upgrade with a Kp breakdown that reaches
11 November 2025
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Earth’s Magnetic Field Today (Nov. 11, 2025): Equatorial Polarity Twist, South Atlantic Anomaly Expands, and NOAA Issues G2–G3 Geomagnetic Storm Watches

Earth’s Magnetic Field Today (Nov. 11, 2025): Equatorial Polarity Twist, South Atlantic Anomaly Expands, and NOAA Issues G2–G3 Geomagnetic Storm Watches

Updated: November 11, 2025 Key points What’s new today Geomagnetic storm watches (Nov. 11–13): The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) says several coronal mass ejections are expected to begin arriving later today, prompting watches for G2 (Moderate) on Nov. 11, G3 (Strong) on Nov. 12, and G1 (Minor) on Nov. 13. Forecast uncertainty remains because of how the CMEs may interact en route, but storm‑time impacts can include stronger auroras, intermittent HF radio issues, and navigation disturbances. NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center Fresh research spotlighting a growing weak spot: A new study synthesizing 11 years of ESA’s Swarm
11 November 2025
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Sky on Fire Tonight: Giant ‘Solar Canyon’ Aims 800‑km/s Wind at Earth—Northern Lights Could Ignite 15 U.S. States & Test Global Tech

Northern Lights Alert: Major Solar Storm Could Ignite Stunning Aurora Displays Across North America

What’s Causing the Aurora Spectacle? The Northern Lights (aurora borealis) occur when bursts of solar plasma slam into Earth’s magnetic field and excite atmospheric gases. In this case, four CMEs from an active sunspot region are en route to our planet. Space weather forecasters describe it as a “train of solar storms” headed our way space.com. As NOAA explains, when the Sun “burps out huge bubbles of electrified gas” (a CME), those particles stream toward Earth and interact with atoms in the upper atmosphere, creating beautiful displays of light ourmidland.com. NASA casually calls this phenomenon a solar “sun burp” –
16 October 2025
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SpaceX Falcon 9 to Launch Triple “Space Weather” Mission Guarding Earth

SpaceX Falcon 9 to Launch Triple “Space Weather” Mission Guarding Earth

Unveiling a New “Space Weather” Mission Trio In a single launch, SpaceX’s Falcon 9 will boost a trio of missions that promise to illuminate how the Sun influences our cosmic neighborhood – and help protect Earth from the Sun’s outbursts. NASA’s IMAP, NOAA’s SWFO-L1, and NASA’s Carruthers Geocorona Observatory will all ride into space together, bound for a point about one million miles from Earth in the direction of the Sun science.nasa.gov. There, at the Sun-Earth L1 Lagrange point, the three spacecraft can maintain a stable position and continuously face the Sun, an ideal vantage to monitor solar emissions and
19 September 2025
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Sky on Fire Tonight: Giant ‘Solar Canyon’ Aims 800‑km/s Wind at Earth—Northern Lights Could Ignite 15 U.S. States & Test Global Tech

Sky on Fire Tonight: Giant ‘Solar Canyon’ Aims 800‑km/s Wind at Earth—Northern Lights Could Ignite 15 U.S. States & Test Global Tech

NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center issued a G2 (moderate) geomagnetic‑storm watch for the night of 25 June 2025. A negative-polarity coronal hole crossing the Sun’s central meridian is releasing plasma at roughly 500–800 km/s toward Earth. The fast solar wind could drive auroras as far south as Colorado, New York and Oregon and briefly disturb power grids, satellites and GPS. Peer‑reviewed modeling in Nature Scientific Reports shows high-speed streams routinely trigger medium geomagnetic storms that can inject more energy into near‑Earth space than rarer CMEs over a solar cycle. A compressed co-rotating interaction region at the leading edge combined with
25 June 2025
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Solar Tempests & Orbital Guardians: The Secret Life of Space-Weather Satellites

Solar Tempests & Orbital Guardians: The Secret Life of Space-Weather Satellites

1859: British astronomer Richard Carrington observed a powerful solar flare, and within a day telegraph systems worldwide went haywire while auroras appeared near the equator—the Carrington Event, the largest geomagnetic storm on record. During the 1957–58 International Geophysical Year, Explorer-1 became the first U.S. satellite to discover the Van Allen radiation belts encircling Earth. SOHO, launched in 1995, sits at the Sun–Earth L1 point and uses the LASCO coronagraph to image CMEs, providing continuous data for 1–3 day storm forecasts and imaging the Sun for over 25 years. ACE (launched 1997) and DSCOVR (launched 2015) operate upstream solar-wind monitors at
20 June 2025
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Space-Weather Satellites: Earth’s Cosmic Early Warning System

Space-Weather Satellites: Earth’s Cosmic Early Warning System

SOHO (Solar and Heliospheric Observatory), launched in 1995, became the first satellite to continuously observe the Sun from the Sun–Earth L1 point and carries the LASCO coronagraph, enabling CME tracking and the discovery of more than 5,000 comets. ACE (Advanced Composition Explorer), launched in 1997, and NOAA’s DSCOVR (Deep Space Climate Observatory), launched in 2015, sit at the Sun–Earth L1 to sample the solar wind and provide roughly 15 minutes to 60 minutes of advance warning of approaching CMEs. STEREO, launched in 2006, consists of two spacecraft, STEREO-A ahead of Earth and STEREO-B behind, providing stereoscopic views of solar activity;
8 June 2025
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