With solar activity likely to remain elevated for the next couple of years, more powerful geomagnetic storm events are possible. The northern lights may grab the headlines, but it's the invisible GPS turbulence that can disrupt our technological world and determine the fate of your next peanut butter sandwich.
Charged particles hurled toward Earth from the sun can trigger geomagnetic storms that light up the sky with brilliant northern lights, but they can also quietly interfere with the satellites and GPS signals our modern world relies on. Space weather can ground airline flights, cancel rocket launches, distort radio signals, confuse navigation systems, and, as in May 2024, even cause farmers' tractors to act like they are demon-possessed.
