Credit: NASA/SDOMay 2024 witnessed one of the most substantial solar storms in years, featuring a barrage of solar flares and coronal mass ejections that triggered historic aurora displays and checked the limits of scientific understanding of solar weather.May 2024 has currently proven to be a particularly stormy month for our Sun. Throughout the first complete week of May, a barrage of large solar flares and coronal mass ejections (CMEs) launched clouds of charged particles and magnetic fields towards Earth, creating the greatest solar storm to reach Earth in two years– and possibly one of the strongest displays of auroras on record in the past 500 years.” From May 3 through May 9, 2024, NASAs Solar Dynamics Observatory observed 82 notable solar flares. Credit NASAs Goddard Space Flight CenterIntense Solar Flares and CMEsThe initially signs of the solar storm started late on May 7 with 2 strong solar flares. Such measurements will also be valuable as NASA sends astronauts to the Moon with the Artemis missions and, later, to Mars.NASAs Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) caught this image of an X5.8 solar flare peaking at 9:23 p.m. EDT on May 10, 2024.
On May 14, 2024, the Sun released a strong solar flare. This solar flare is the biggest of Solar Cycle 25 and is classified as an X8.7 flare. X-class denotes the most intense flares, while the number provides more details about its strength. Credit: NASA/SDOMay 2024 saw among the most significant solar storms in decades, featuring a barrage of solar flares and coronal mass ejections that triggered historical aurora display screens and evaluated the limitations of clinical understanding of solar weather.May 2024 has already shown to be an especially rainy month for our Sun. During the very first complete week of May, a barrage of big solar flares and coronal mass ejections (CMEs) released clouds of charged particles and electromagnetic fields toward Earth, developing the greatest solar storm to reach Earth in two decades– and possibly one of the greatest display screens of auroras on record in the past 500 years.” Well be studying this occasion for many years. It will assist us check the limits of our models and understanding of solar storms.”– Teresa Nieves-Chinchilla, Acting Director of NASAs Moon to Mars (M2M) Space Weather Analysis Office” Well be studying this occasion for several years,” said Teresa Nieves-Chinchilla, acting director of NASAs Moon to Mars (M2M) Space Weather Analysis Office. “It will assist us check the limitations of our models and understanding of solar storms.” From May 3 through May 9, 2024, NASAs Solar Dynamics Observatory observed 82 noteworthy solar flares. The flares came generally from 2 active regions on the Sun called AR 13663 and AR 13664. This video highlights all flares categorized at M5 or higher with nine classified as X-class solar flares. Credit NASAs Goddard Space Flight CenterIntense Solar Flares and CMEsThe initially signs of the solar storm began late on May 7 with 2 strong solar flares. From May 7– 11, several strong solar flares and a minimum of 7 CMEs stormed towards Earth. Eight of the flares in this period were the most effective type, called X-class, with the strongest peaking with a score of X5.8. (Since then, the same solar region has launched much more large flares, consisting of an X8.7 flare– the most effective flare seen this solar cycle– on May 14.) On May 14, 2024, the Sun emitted a strong solar flare. This solar flare is the largest of Solar Cycle 25 and is categorized as an X8.7 flare. Credit: NASAs Goddard Space Flight CenterTraveling at speeds up to 3 million miles per hour, the CMEs bunched up in waves that reached Earth beginning May 10, creating a lasting geomagnetic storm that reached a ranking of G5– the greatest level on the geomagnetic storm scale, and one that hasnt been seen because 2003.” The CMEs all showed up largely at the same time, and the conditions were ideal to develop an actually historic storm,” stated Elizabeth MacDonald, NASA heliophysics person science lead and a space researcher at NASAs Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.Global Aurora DisplaysWhen the storm reached Earth, it produced fantastic auroras seen around the globe. Auroras were even visible at abnormally low latitudes, including the southern U.S. and northern India. The strongest auroras were seen on the night of May 10, and they continued to light up night skies throughout the weekend. Countless reports sent to the NASA-funded Aurorasaurus resident science website are helping researchers study the event to read more about auroras.” Cameras– even basic cellular phone electronic cameras– are much more conscious the colors of the aurora than they remained in the past,” MacDonald stated. “By collecting pictures from worldwide, we have a substantial opportunity to discover more about auroras through person science.” A coronal aurora appeared over southwestern British Columbia on May 10, 2024. Credit: NASA/Mara Johnson-GrohMeasuring Geomagnetic Storm StrengthBy one measure of geomagnetic storm strength, called the disturbance storm time index which goes back to 1957, this storm was similar to historic storms in 1958 and 2003. And with reports of auroras visible to as low as 26 degrees magnetic latitude, this current storm may take on a few of the lowest-latitude aurora sightings on record over the previous 5 centuries, though scientists are still examining this ranking.” Its a little hard to determine storms gradually due to the fact that our technology is constantly changing,” said Delores Knipp, a research study teacher in the Smead Aerospace Engineering Science Department and a senior research study associate at the NCAR High Altitude Observatory, in Boulder, Colorado. “Aurora visibility is not the perfect measure, but it allows us to compare over centuries.” MacDonald encourages people to continue submitting aurora reports to Aurorasaurus.org, noting that even non-sightings are important for helping researchers comprehend the degree of the event.Importance of Continued Monitoring and Future ResearchLeading as much as the storm, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administrations Space Weather Prediction Center, which is accountable for forecasting solar storm impacts, sent notices to operators of power grids and commercial satellites to assist them reduce prospective impacts.Warnings assisted numerous NASA missions brace for the storm, with some spacecraft preemptively powering down particular instruments or systems to prevent problems. NASAs ICESat-2– which studies polar ice sheets– went into safe mode, likely because of increased drag due to the storm.Looking ForwardBetter data on how solar occasions influence Earths upper atmosphere is essential to understanding space weathers influence on satellites, crewed missions, and Earth- and space-based infrastructure. To date, just a few restricted direct measurements exist in this region. More are coming. Future missions, such as NASAs Geospace Dynamics Constellation (GDC) and Dynamical Neutral Atmosphere-Ionosphere Coupling (DYNAMIC), will have the ability to see and determine precisely how Earths environment reacts to the energy influxes that occur during solar storms like this one. Such measurements will also be valuable as NASA sends out astronauts to the Moon with the Artemis objectives and, later on, to Mars.NASAs Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) recorded this image of an X5.8 solar flare peaking at 9:23 p.m. EDT on May 10, 2024. The image reveals a subset of severe ultraviolet light that highlights the extremely hot material in flares. Credit: NASA SDOThe solar area accountable for the current stormy weather condition is now turning around the backside of the Sun, where its impacts cant reach Earth. That does not imply the storm is over. NASAs Solar TErrestrial RElations Observatory (STEREO), presently found at about 12 degrees ahead of Earth in its orbit, will continue watching the active area an extra day after it is no longer noticeable from Earth.” The active area is simply beginning to come into view of Mars,” said Jamie Favors, director for the NASA Space Weather Program at NASA Headquarters in Washington. “Were already starting to catch some data at Mars, so this story just continues.”
