The Surprising Power of Solar Storms

NASA-funded researchers say a flurry of solar storms from March 8-10, 2012 dumped enough energy in Earth's upper atmosphere (our thermosphere absorbed 26 billion kWh of energy) to power every residence in New York City for two years as recorded by the SABER instrument onboard NASA's TIMED satellite. This energy temporarily increases the drag on low-orbiting satellites, which decreases their lifetime by bringing them closer to the day of re-entry. There is a plus side; extra drag helps clear ...