Earth grew a pair of extra "radiation belts" after a supercharged solar storm rocked our planet's magnetic field last year, data from a resurrected NASA spacecraft reveal. And one of the invisible bands, which is unlike any similar structure seen before, might still be there.
In May 2024, Earth was hit with its biggest geomagnetic storm in 21 years after a barrage of solar storms slammed into our planet, disrupting the magnetosphere and painting some of the most widespread aurora displays in the last 500 years. The geomagnetic disturbance also caused GPS-reliant machinery to malfunction.
