Space Weather, an Urgent New Science

Space Weather is everyone's concern ! A big solar storm can cause considerable damages to our hyper-connected societies. So, what would be the consequences today if we were to suffer a solar storm like the one that plunged the whole of the Province of Quebec and part of the State of New York into darkness in 1989? This was 25 years ago, in the prehistory' of communication technology when cell phones, text messages, internet and the GPS didn't exist. Solar storms are no worse today but their consequences are worse. The more we depend on sophisticated technology, the more we become vulnerable to these natural phenomena. The stakes are so high that industrialists, scientists and political decision makers are now working on space meteorology to guard us from it from day to day.