Two new missions to track solar outbursts, radio scintillation, and geomagnetic storms could prove vital now that older satellites are running on fumes. BEIJING—Whether it's a thunderstorm super-cell spawning a tornado or warm ocean waters feeding ahurricane, turmoil in the lower atmosphere follows predictable rhythms. Not so space weather. Although it's known that solar outbursts spark geomagnetic storms, Earth can be blindsided by devastating but low-profile events. Two missions described here last week at the 2006 Western Pacific Geophysics Meeting aim to fill critical gaps in space weather surveillance.
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