January 30, 2026 3:51 PM
Intense geomagnetic storm linked to stealth solar eruption, say astronomers
Astronomers have identified a subtle solar eruption known as a Stealth Coronal Mass Ejection (CME) as the cause of an intense geomagnetic storm that impacted Earth in March 2023, highlighting new challenges in forecasting space weather events. The study found that the CME travelled from the Sun to Earth through a coronal hole—an opening in the Sun’s magnetic field that allows high-speed solar wind to escape—enabling the otherwise weak eruption to reach Earth and trigger a powerful geomagn...