Powerful solar activity released by the sun reached Earth Monday, causing colorful auroral displays and GPS issues for aircraft, according to the National Weather Service’s Space Weather Prediction Center, or SWPC.A solar radiation storm, ranked at a level four out of five on a severity scale, was tracked by SWPC. The center designated the event as “the largest solar radiation storm in over 20 years.”A solar radiation storm marks the release of intense, rapidly-moving charged particles toward Earth and can impact space launches, aviation and satellite operations. The last time severe solar radiation storm levels were observed was in October 2003, according to SWPC.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementThe Halloween space weather storms of October 2003 resulted in power outages in Sweden and damages to power transformers in South Africa, according to SWPC.When solar radiation storms reach Earth, they can cause increased radiation exposure risks for astronauts in low-Earth orbit, like those aboard the International Space Station, as well as passengers on flights that are traveling polar routes.SWPC notified airlines, NASA, the Federal Aviation Administration, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the North American Electric Reliability Corporation and other operators ahead of the storm.“We’ve been making all these phone calls to ensure that we are keeping all the critical technological infrastructure operators in the know of what’s happening,” said SWPC forecaster Shawn Dahl.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementDuring increased radiation risk events, astronauts can move to parts of the space station that are …
