Space weather includes solar storms and the impact of space debris such as meteorites and falling satellites that are significant enough to threaten people’s safety.
Solar storms
Solar storms are events on the surface of the sun that release large amounts of solar energy. This energy can travel through space and hit the earth causing a variety of effects both in our atmosphere and on the surface, inclduing beautiful displays of the Northern Lights to serious disruptions in our electrical and communications systems and power outages.
Learn more about solar storms and sign up for alerts at the National Oceanic and Atmspheric Administration Space Weather Prediction Center.
Space debris
Space debris can be anything from naturally occurring meteorites to pieces of falling satellites and other “space junk.”
The hazard risk to Ramsey County from space debris is very low, and often we will know about large meteor storms or large pieces of space junk entering the atmosphere hours to days in advance.
Learn more about space debris: