Elsayed Talaat

Director, Office of Space Weather Observations at NOAA's National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service

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Last updated May 27, 2026

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Severe solar storm hits Earth at solar maximum

Force in Play

As of May 2026: Leading federal space weather monitoring efforts

On January 18, 2026, the Sun fired the most intense radiation storm in over 20 years directly at Earth. An X1.9-class flare launched a coronal mass ejection traveling at 1,700 kilometers per second—plasma moving fast enough to cross the Sun-Earth distance in just 25 hours.

Updated May 27