Democracy Dies in Darkness

A really cosmic forecast: Space climate will affect your weather — and technology

By
May 18, 2019 at 7:00 a.m. EDT
A long filament of solar material that had been hovering in the sun’s corona erupts into space in August 2012. The coronal mass ejection traveled at over 900 miles per second. (NASA/GSFC/SDO)

If you’re like most people, you care only how weather will affect your clothing or commute.

But far-off weather could put a damper on modern life. Conditions on the sun, our closest star, have an impact on Earth’s climate and technology, such as GPS, electric power transmission, and radio and satellite communications.