New ESA simulations suggest that a solar storm on par with the 1859 Carrington Event could wreak havoc on Earth-orbiting satellites — and it is a question of "when," not "if" this will happen, experts say.

Although a severe solar storm made headlines last year, a 166-year-old event still remains for the most powerful bombardment on record. In August 1859, what’s now known as the Carrington Event struck Earth with enough cosmic force to produce Northern ...

The European Space Agency has conducted its most severe solar storm simulation yet, warning that a Carrington-level geomagnetic event could wipe out satellites and disrupt power grids. Officials stress early warning systems are critical as a similar storm is inevitable.

There are now over 10,000 satellites in orbit, more than at any point in history, and this growing number is starting to reveal how solar storms could disrupt internet mega constellations like SpaceX'

From communications outages to a brush with nuclear war, solar events like flares and coronal mass ejections have shaped human history.

Threats from space aren't always obvious, but statistically, it's only a matter of time before one of them happens. One of the most concerning for many space experts is a massive solar storm, like the one that literally lit telegraph paper on fire when it hit back in 1859.

Newly discovered multi-wavelength view of a stellar eruption on a young Sun-like star is changing how we think about life's origins on Earth.

The overnight storm was likely triggered by a glancing CME arrival that combined with lingering effects from a high-speed solar wind stream, according to NOAA's Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC). The result was a strong burst of auroral activity, with sightings reported across Europe, Canada and the northern U.S.

No communication or navigation, faulty electronics and collision risk. At ESA's mission control in Darmstadt, teams faced a scenario unlike any before: a solar storm of extreme magnitude. Fortunately,