Space storm's 'Epicentre' found

The precise spot at which a space storm struck the Earth's outer atmosphere has been pinpointed for the first time.

These storms are caused by the bending and stretching of the Earth's magnetic field by material from the Sun.

Observations like this may one day lead to better forecasting of these events, a meeting of the American Geophysical Union in Toronto, Canada, has heard.

This would provide more time to power down satellites and electrical grids, which can be damaged by these storms.

Dr Rae led a team of scientists who took measurements of changes in the Earth's magnetic fields using a system of cameras and magnetic instruments on the ground, while simultaneously observing the onset of a space storm from Nasa's five-strong fleet of THEMIS spacecraft.

They saw magnetic oscillations hit the upper atmosphere in a particular location - somewhere over Canada - and ripple out across the ionosphere. These events were followed, three minutes later, by an auroral display.

Researchers hope to use these observations to better predict these events. This could lead to the forecasting of storms hours, or even days, before they occur.

This would give more advanced warnings, helping protect humans and equipment from the radiation generated by disturbances.

"In the future, we should be able to predict space weather in the same way that we now can predict long-term weather forecasts [on Earth]," Dr Rae said.

The work is reported in the Journal of Geophysical Research and is co-funded by the Canadian Space Agency and Nasa.