Solar Flares

Does a diagram from a patent application for a purported "sun simulator" prove that NASA's James Webb Space Telescope is also a sun simulator because of their similarities? No, that's not true: The diagram included in a 2003 patent application is for an "autonomously assembled space telescope" and does not depict a "sun simulator." The James Webb Space Telescope, which…

Can the European Incoherent Scatter Scientific Association, or EISCAT Scientific Association, use its technologies for mind control, as a video on social media claims? No, that's not true: EISCAT Scientific Association Director Axel Steuwer told Lead Stories that there is "absolutely no mind control possible" with the program's systems, which primarily measure physical elements of the upper atmosphere using the…

Was an epic display of the northern lights in early May 2024 caused by testing at HAARP (the High-frequency Active Auroral Research Program) in Alaska? No, that's not true: There's no connection between the research program's experiments and the geomagnetic storms that overlapped them. According to a press release from the University of Alaska Fairbanks, where the program is based,…

Is a Safe Zones Map that shows parts of the United States that may be submerged by "the sea" or wracked by earthquakes an official map? No, that's not true: There's no evidence to back up this claim. Additionally, the map and its accompanying text look and sound suspiciously similar to maps produced by Lori Toye, an author and self-proclaimed…

Are solar flares not real, thus incapable of disrupting telecommunications networks, as a post on Instagram suggests? No, that's not true: Solar flares are well-documented bursts of electromagnetic energy emitted by the sun during geomagnetic storms, and a large body of evidence proves they exist and have far-ranging effects. Flares disrupt radar, gps and other radiowave-based systems, according to recognized…

Did NASA announce the discovery of a massive unidentified flying object (UFO) spotted between the Earth and the sun and did this result in the closure of six solar observatories to hide something from the public? No, that's not true: This UFO clickbait narrative has been circulating online since at least September 13, 2018, and has continued to evolve with…

Does a time-lapse video of the midnight sun in Alaska show that the sun appears to get smaller as it approaches the horizon -- thus proving that this is a "local sun" that is very close to Earth in a closed environment, part of the firmament? No, that's not true: The footage of slightly more than one full day has…

Is a solar storm coming to Earth, so dangerous that it could impact GPS, the internet and satellites? No, that's not true: a solar storm has already come -- on July 3, 2021, -- and gone, according to NASA. It did briefly impact radio communications over the Atlantic Ocean, but there is no incoming solar storm as of this writing.…