Scientists say they have confirmed the existence of a space storm with a mass 600 miles wide at the North Pole.
Researchers led by Shandong University in China used satellite data to identify the space hurricane, finding that it was not of an illusory pattern of air but of plasma-ionized gas.
The mass was raining electrons instead of water and it lasted about eight hours before collapsing.
Mike Woodwood, a space science professor at the University of Reading, said hurricanes could be a global phenomenon on planets and the moon with a magnetic field and plasma.
He said: “Until now, it was uncertain that space plasma hurricanes even existed, so it is unbelievable to prove this with such striking observations.
“Tropical storms are associated with huge amounts of energy radiation, and these space storms must be created by the unusually large and rapid transfer of solar wind energy radiation and charged particles into the Earth’s upper atmosphere.
“Plasma and magnetic fields in the planet’s atmosphere exist throughout the universe, so the findings suggest that space storms should be a widespread phenomenon.”
Space hurricanes, formed during periods of low geomagnetic activity, were seen sharing many features with hurricanes in the Earth’s lower atmosphere, a quiet center, spiral arms, and wide rotation.
They are expected to lead to space weather effects such as satellite traction, disruption of high frequency radio communications and increasing errors in ultra-horizontal radar location, satellite navigation and communications systems.
These findings were published in Nature Communications.
