Sun-Earth Day 2008: Space Weather Around the World
IMAGE GALLERY
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An aurora from the ground at Yellowknife, NT in December 2004. Without magnetic storms, aurora would be featureless glows in the sky. Magnetic fields provide the pathways for currents to flow into the atmosphere in particular patterns controlled by the magnetic forces and their changes through time. (Courtesy: Andrew Eaton)
This image appears in the Technology Through Time article, #61: "What Causes An Auroral Storm?".
Space Weather Fact
A major solar 'superstorm' such as the one in 1859 could cost $30 billion a day to the US electrical power grid, and up to $70 billion to the satellite industry.
