Earth hit by stealth solar storm on November 20
On November 20, 2025, Earth was surprised by a stealth solar storm—no big flashes or warnings, just a quiet arrival as the Sun entered the declining phase of its 11-year cycle where these sneaky storms are more common.
NOAA spots the hidden storm
NOAA scientists noticed something was off when the magnetic field carried by the solar wind suddenly spiked to 18 nanoteslas (way above the usual 4-6), and solar wind speeds jumped up too.
Turns out, a faint coronal mass ejection (CME) had slipped in quietly with a fast-moving solar wind stream—making it tough to catch before it hit.
Auroras and why these storms are tricky
This stealthy combo led to unexpected auroras lighting up skies in places like Maine and Denmark.
Since stealth CMEs come from quieter regions of the Sun with weaker magnetic fields, even advanced imaging tech struggles to spot them early—which means forecasts can miss out on warning us in time.