NOAA

Less than 0.001% of the deep ocean floor has been visually surveyed. Here's why sonar, pressure, and cost keep most of the seafloor a mystery.

In May 2024, auroras appeared over Florida, the Yucatán Peninsula, and Puerto Rico. Northern lights were photographed from latitudes that had not seen them in decades — triggered by the strongest geomagnetic storm since March 1989. The storm was rated G5, the maximum on NOAA's five-point geomagnetic disturbance scale. Solar Cycle 25, which government forecasters had predicted would be 'average,' had quietly become one of the most active solar cycles in a century — and the official models did not see it coming until it was already happening.