Category: News
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Craig Rodger awarded URSI medal
In mid May-2026 the International Union of Radio Science (URSI) announced that Craig Rodger will be awarded the Karl Rawer Gold Medal. URSI medals are awarded every 3 years. Only 1 New Zealander has received an URSI award in the past (Sir Ian Axford in 1969). He is the 6th person from the Southern Hemisphere to recieve an URSI…
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Daniel’s trip to the US
In April, Dr. Daniel Mac Manus gave an invited talk in Boulder (CO, USA) as part of the session “Managing Space Weather Risks to the Bulk Electric System” of the 2026 US Space Weather Workshop. Daniel was speaking jointly with Chris Taylor of Transpower NZ on our Solar Tsunamis work, and the NZ efforts to prepare and…
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A new magnetometer!
Johnny and Xinhu have installed a new magnetometer for the MANA magnetometer array. They travelled to the top of the South Island to the Quartz Range mountains, a section of the Kahurangi national park, in Golden Bay between 7 – 9 April 2026. The site is near-perfect for a magnetometer as it is located deep…
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Space Weather in Engineering NZ Magazine
An in-depth article about the hazard posed by extreme space weather to the NZ electrical grid, and the work being done by the Solar Tsunamis project along with Transpower and NEMA, is a feature article in Issue 34 of Engineering New Zealand magazine. The article is also available to read on their website. Here is…
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Space Physics Expedition 17 to Antarctica
Dr Hannah Kessenich and Dr James Brundell travelled to Scott Base on 9 February 2026. They made up Space Physics Expedition 17 to Antarctica. This year they went south in a USAF MAC C-17 Globemaster III. This was James’ 16th trip to Antarctica, and Hannah’s first.
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January 2026 solar storm update
Between 19 – 21 January 2026, the world experienced a large solar storm linked to a X1.9 solar flare and a large, unusually fast Coronal Mass Ejection (CME) – travelling at around 1600 km/s, which put it in the top 5% of CMEs for speed! It was the second biggest geomagnetic storm since 2003, only…
