Earth hit with largest solar radiation storm since 2003
Material from a Sunday solar eruption hit the Earth on Tuesday, helping to create the planet's strongest solar radiation storm in more than eight years, NOAA's Space Weather Prediction Center said.
The eruption also has caused a minor geomagnetic storm, expected to continue at least through Tuesday. Together, the storms could affect GPS systems, other satellite systems and radio communications near the poles, the SWPC and NASA said.
The storms prompted some airlines to divert planes from routes near the north pole, where radio communications may be affected and passengers at high altitudes may be at "a higher than normal radiation risk," the SWPC said.
NASA: debris is 'closest' ever to space station
(CNN) - Tuesday's space debris incident at the International Space Station was the "closest anything has come to the space station," NASA said Wednesday.
Final calculations showed the unknown object passed the space station 1,100 feet away and its source remains a mystery, according to Kelly Humphries, a spokesman at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas.
When the unexpected space debris came flying close to the Space Station Tuesday, it prompted the station's six astronauts to take shelter inside two Soyuz capsules, NASA said.
NASA does not expect any other close calls with this particular debris, said Humphries.
FULL STORY at CNN.com
Astronauts take 'shelter' as space debris swings by
(CNN) - NASA ordered the six crew members at the International Space Station to "shelter in place" Monday when space debris came tumbling toward the station's orbit.
An all-clear announcement followed 41 minutes later. An investigation is under way to find out how close the debris came and where it was from, said NASA spokesman Joshua Buck.
FULL STORY at CNN.com
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