Space hurricanes are much more common than we thought | Space

Every now and then, a discovery comes along that takes our breath away – much like the stunning Aurora Australis that paints the Southern Hemisphere sky with dazzling natural light. Now, there’s more to the story. Meet the space hurricanes, swirling spectacles high above Earth that could even cause a little earthly trouble.

Dr. Rebecca Dzombak of the American Geophysical Union has recently reported new details about this phenomenon.

The mysteries of the universe are often unfathomable to us earthlings, but with each revelation, we’re getting a little closer to understanding the cosmos’ infinite expanses.

What exactly is a space hurricane?

In simple terms, a space hurricane is a geomagnetic phenomenon where plasma interacts with Earth’s magnetosphere – the space owned by Earth’s magnetic field.

Imagine gusts of plasma creating massive spiral arms, whirling around a peaceful “eye,” but in the sky! They’re just like the terrestrial hurricanes that we know – and sometimes fear – but up in the ionosphere, forming auroras shaped like their namesakes.

The twist in this atmospheric tale is what these celestial hurricanes bring from space into our own upper atmosphere – electrons. These “rain” from the sky, potentially causing interference with our satellite communications.

Discovery of space hurricanes

The intriguing discovery of space hurricanes was made…