Scientists are harnessing data from ESA’s Swarm mission and ground-based instruments to precisely measure the strength and duration of intense upper-atmosphere heating – dramatic ‘hot flushes’ triggered by solar storms that also cause Earth’s tenuous outer atmospheric layers to expand rapidly.

This research, funded by ESA's Earth Observation FutureEO Science for Society initiative, offers crucial insights into how geomagnetic activity affects satellite orbits and space weather conditions.